// .  /  3    2  S 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON.     N.    J. 


Presented  by 


7 

Sectio7i.A.\r:T..jLi  ^ 


^y 


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in  2010  with  funding  from 

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COMMENTARY  ^,g,,^ 


ON    THE 


HOLY    SCRIPTURES: 

CRITICAL,  DOCTRINAL,  AND  HOMILETICAL. 

WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE  TO  MINISTERS  AND  STUDENTS 


BT 


JOHK   PETER  ^LAISTGE,  D.  D., 

OKDINABT  PBOnSSOB  OF  THEOLOGY  IN  THE  UNIVERSITT  OF   BONN, 
or  oonnunoii  wtth  a  kumbbb  of  khutsht  kcropkax  orvuraa 

TRANSLATED,   ENLARGED,   AND  EDITED 


PHILIP   SOHAFF,  D.  D., 

PKOFESSOR   OF  THEOLOGY   IN  THE  UNION   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.   NEW   YORK, 
la  oomnccTioK    with   amerioajt  scholars  of   various   bvangklical   denomuatioss. 


WO*'*mE  XIV.  OV   THE  OLD  TESTAMENT:  CONTAINING  THE  MINOR  PROPHETS 


NEW   YOKlv: 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS, 

1891) 


THE 


MINOR  PROPHETS 


EXEGETICALLY,  THEOLOGICALLY.   AND   HOMILETICALLy 


EXPOUNDED 


PAUL   KLEINERT,   OTTO   SCHMOLLER, 

GEORGE   R.  BLISS,  TALBOT  W.  CHAMBERS,   CHARLES  ELLIOTT, 

JOHN   FORSYTH,   J.  FREDERICK   Mc CURDY,   AND 

JOSEPH    PACKARD. 


EDITED  BY 

PHILIP   SCHAFF,  D.  D. 


NEW   YORK: 

CHAKLES     SCEIBNER'8     SONS, 

1699 


Iktend  mccording  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  vear  1874,  ev 

8CRIBNER,    AkmSTRONQ,    AND    COMPANY, 

IB  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washinotssb 


Trow's 
Printing  and  Bookbinding  Company, 
205-213   East  \-2.th  St., 
NEW     VORK. 


PREFACE  BY  THE   GENERAL  EDITOR 


The  volume  on  the  Minor  Prophets  is  partly  in  advance  of  the  German  original, 
which  has  not  yet  reached  the  three  post-exilian  Prophets.  The  commentaries  on  the  nin< 
earlier  Prophets  by  Professors  Kleinert  and  Schmoller  appeared  in  separate  number! 
eome  time  ago  ^ ;  but  for  Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  Malachi,  Dr.  Lange  has  not,  to  this  date, 
been  able  to  secure  a  suitable  co-laborer.^  With  his  cordial  approval  I  deem  it  better  to 
complete  the  volume  by  original  commentaries  than  indefinitely  to  postpone  the  publication. 
They  were  prepared  by  sound  and  able  scholars,  in  conformity  with  the  plan  of  the  whole 
work. 

The  volume  accordingly  contains  the  following  parts,  each  one  being  paged  separately :  — 

1.  A  General  Introduction  to  the  Prophets,  especially  the  Minor  Prophets,  by 
Rev.  Charles  Elliott,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Exegesis  in  Chicago,  Illinois.  The 
general  introductions  of  Kleinert  and  Schmoller  are  too  brief  and  incomplete  for  our  purpose, 
and  therefore  I  requested  Dr.  Elliott  to  prepare  an  independent  essay  on  the  subject. 

2.  Hosea.  By  B,ev.  Dr.  Otto  Schmoller.  Translated  from  the  Grerman  and  en- 
larged by  James  Frederick  Mc Curdy,  M.  A.,  of  Princeton.  N.  J. 

3.  Joel.  By  Otto  Schmoller.  Translated  and  enlarged  by  Rev.  John  Forsyth, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Chaplain  and  Professor  of  Ethics  and  Law  in  the  United  States  Military 
Academy,  West  Point,  N.  Y. 

4.  Amos.  By  Otto  Schmoller.  Translated  and  enlarged  by  Rev.  Talbot  W 
Chambers,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  New  York. 

5.  Obadiah.  By  Rev.  Paul  Kleinert,  Professor  of  Old  Testament  Theology  in  the 
University  of  Berlin.  Translated  and  enlarged  by  Rev.  George  R.  Bliss,  D.  D.,  Professor 
in  the  University  of  Lewisburg,  Pennsylvania. 

6.  Jonah.  By  Prof.  Paul  Kleinert,  of  the  University  of  Berlin.  Translated  and  en- 
larged by  Rev.  Charles  Elliott,  Professor  of  Biblical  Exegesis  in  Chicago.' 

7.  MicAH.  By  Prof.  Paul  Kleinert,  of  Berlin,  and  Prof.  George  R.  Bliss,  of  Lewie- 
burg. 

8.  Nahum.  By  Prof.  Paul  Kleinert,  of  Berlin,  and  Prof.  Chables  Elliott,  of 
Chicago. 

9.  Habakeue.     By  Professors  Kleinert  and  Elliott. 

1  Obadjah,  Jonah,  Mieha,  Nahum,  Habakuk,  Zephanjak.  Wissenshaftlieh  undfUr  Htn  Gebraueh  der  Kireht  mugeUgt  «om 
Paot.  KuEDfEBT,  Pfarrer  zu  St.  Gertraud  und  a.  Professor  an  der  Univtrsitdt  zu  Berlin.  Bielefeld  u.  Leipzig,  1868.  —  DU 
Propheten  Hosea,  Joel  und  Amos.  TheologiteMiomUetisch  bearbeitet  von  Orro  SoBUOlLSR,  Licent.  der  Theologie,  Diaeomu 
m  Uraeh.  Bielef.  and  Leipzig,  1872. 

2  The  eommentary  of  Rev.  W.  Pmbskl  on  tliese  three  Prophets  (Die  naehexiiisehen  Propheten,  Qotha,  1870)  w» 
crlginally  prepared  for  Lange's  Bible-work,  but  was  rejected  by  Dr.  Lange  mainly  on  accoont  of  Pressel's  views  on  cIm 
ftnuineness  and  integrity  of  Zechariah.  It  was,  however,  independently  published,  and  was  made  use  ot,  like  othar 
eommentaries,  by  the  authors  of  the  respective  sections  in  this  volume. 

8  Dr.  Elliott  desires  to  render  tiia  acknowledgments  to  the  Rev.  Reuben  Dederiok,  of  Chicago,  and  the  Rev.  Jaeok 
liotke,  of  Faribault,  Minnesota,  for  valuable  assistance  in  translatinit  some  difficult  passages  In  KleinofB  0<Hnin«ntuui 
ID  Jonah,  Nabum,  and  Habakkuk. 


PREFACE   BY   THE   GENERAL   EDIT(»R. 


10.  Zephaniah.     By  Professors  Klein  ert  and  Elliott. 

11.  £[aggai.     By  James  Frederick  McCurdy,  M.  A.,  Princeton,  N.  J. 

12.  Zechariah  By  B«v.  Talbot  W.  Chambers,  D.  D.,  New  York.  (See  special 
preface.) 

13.  Malachi.  By  Rev.  Joseph  Packard,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  in 
the  Theological  Semiimry  at  Alexandria,  Virginia. 

The  contributors  to  this  volume  were  directed  carefully  to  consult  the  entire  ancient  and 
modern  literature  on  the  Minor  Prophets  and  to  enrich  it  with  the  latest  results  of  Grerman 
and  Anglo-American  scholarship. 

The  remaining  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  are  all  under  way,  and  will  be  published  af 
fast  as  the  nature  of  the  work  will  permit. 

PHILIP   SCHAFF. 

DmoH  THaoLoarcuj   Sejchaii,  Nirw  Yosa.  .  -ir.utiry,  1874. 


THE 


r'O'/     7  "7  lOOQ 


BOOK  OF  HABAKKUK. 


EXPOUNDED 


PAUL  "^LEHsTEET, 


FltTOm  AT  ST.  QERTRAUD,  AND   PROFESSOR  OP  OLD  TESTAMENT  THBOLOOT  » 
UNIVERSITY  OF  BERLIN 


TRANSLATED  AND   ENLARGED 


CHARLES  ELLIOTT,  D.  D., 

rBOTKaaoB  or  biblical  litkbatuke  in  the  peesbytebian  thbolooical  beminabt  at  CHIOAOO,  IU 


NEW  YORK: 
CHAKLES    SCRIBXER'S    SONS, 


tetond  according  to  Act  of  C<v«fes8,  in  the  year  1874)  bf 

^CRiBNEK.  Armstrong,  and  Compaht, 
■  tkft  Kjidct  ui  thk  LJbtarian  of  Congress,  at  Washingtoa. 


HABAKKUK. 


INTRODUCTION. 

L  Contents  and  Form. 

Thk  first  part  of  this  book,  chaps,  i.  and  ii.,  contains  a  dialogue  between  Grod  and  the 
prophet,  which,  not  only  by  its  form,  but  also  by  the  pure  elevation  of  its  style,  is  closely 
connected  with  Micah  vi.  and  vii.  It  takes  from  the  empirical  present  only  its  starting- 
point,  in  order  to  exhibit  immediately  the  great  course  of  coming  events,  according  to  its 
nature,  as  an  embodiment  of  the  fundamental  ideas  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  dialogue 
treats,  in  two  gradations,  of  God's  plan  with  Israel  and  with  the  heathen  secular  power, 
which  is  here  pointed  out  with  clear  precision  as  the  Chaldaean,  i.  6.  Israel's  sin  must  be 
punished  by  a  severe  and  powerful  judgment,  and  the  scourge  is  already  raised,  which  will 
fall  upon  the  generation  living  at  present  (i.  1-11).  But  it  is  a  revelation  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  Jehovah,  which  is  to  be  executed,  and  which  will  strike  the  destroyer  as  well  as 
every  sinful  being  upon  earth.  At  the  last  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  glory  of  Jehovah  and  keep  silence  before  Him.  With  this  the  prophet  consoles  be- 
lievers (i.  12-ii.  20).  As  in  Micah,  so  here  also  the  dialogue  falls  into  a  hymn  artistically 
constructed  after  the  manner  of  the  Psalms  (chap,  iii.),  which,  according  to  the  model  of 
the  old  sacred  national  songs,  and  in  the  form  (which  from  these  has  become  customary)  of 
a  wonderfully  glorious  theophany,  celebrates  the  judgment  of  God  upon  the  heathen,  and; 
in  connection  with  it,  the  salvation  of  Israel. 

By  the  liturgical  additions  at  the  beginning  and  the  end  this  hymn  was  appointed  for  pub- 
lic performance  in  the  temple ;  as  may  be  seen  also  from  the  recurrence  of  the  Selah,  which 
is  characteristic  of  liturgical  hymns. 

As  concerns  the  form  of  the  prophetical  language  of  this  book,  "  it  is  classical  through- 
out, full  of  rare  and  select  words  and  turns,  which  are  to  some  extent  exclusively  his  own, 
whilst  his  view  and  mode  of  presentation  bear  the  seal  of  independent  force  and  finished 
beauty.  Notwithstanding  the  violent  rush  (which  is  yet  more  regular  than  in  Nahum)  and 
lofty  soaring  of  the  thoughts,  his  prophecy  forms  a  finely  organized  and  artistically  rounded 
whole."  (Delitzsch.)  But  the  lyric  ring  of  the  language  throughout,  in  which  he  unites  the 
power  of  Isaiah  and  the  tender  feeling  of  Jeremiah,  is  peculiar  to  himself. 

[Keil,  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament,  vol.  i.  p.  414 :  "  The  prophecy  of  Habakkuk  ia 
clothed  in  a  dramatic  form,  man  questioning  and  complaining,  God  answering  with  threat- 
ening. It  announces  as  nearest  of  all,  the  impending  fearful  judgment  by  the  instrumen- 
tality of  the  Chaldseans  on  the  theocracy  because  of  its  prevailing  moral  corruption  (chap,  i.) ; 
and  next  to  this,  in  a  fivefold  woe,  the  downfall  of  this  arrogant,  violent,  God-forgetting,  and 
Idolatrous  offender  (chap,  ii.)  ;  and  it  concludes  with  the  answer  of  the  believing  Church  to 
this  twofold  divine  revelation,  —  that  is  to  say,  with  a  prophetico-lyric  echo  of  the  impres- 
sions and  feelings  produced  in  the  prophet's  mind  —  (1)  by  these  two  divine  relations  when 
pondered  in  the  light  of  the  Lord's  great  doings  in  times  past  [ch.  iii.]  (2)." 

"  (1)  Comp.  the  admirable  development  of  the  contents  of  this  prophecy,  and  of  its  organic 
articulation  as  it  forms  an  indivisible  whole,  in  Delitzsch,  Comm.  There  is  now  no  more 
need  of  reftiting  the  contrary  opinions  (proceeding  from  utter  want  of  understanding)  of 
Ealinsky,  p.  145  ff.;  of  Friedrich  in  Eichhorn,  AUg.  Biblioth.,  x.  p.  420  ff.;  of  Horst,  Visione» 


HABAKKUK. 


Hob.,  pp.  31-32;  of  Rosenmiiller,  of  Maurer,  and  otters,  that  the  book  contains  various  dis- 
courses of  various  dates.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  assertion  of  Hamaker,  p.  16  fF.,  that 
the  first  discourse  is  only  a  fragment. 

"  (2)  Hence  it  leans  in  manifold  ways  on  the  older  songs  and  psalms,  and  reproduces 
their  thoughts  (Deut.  xxxiii.  2 ;  Judg.  v.  4,  5 ;  Ps.  Ixviii.  8,  9),  but  especially  on  Ps.  Ixxvii, 
16-21  ;  couip.  Delitzsch,  Hah.,  p.  118  ff." —  C.  E.] 

n.  Date. 

The  unity  of  the  book,  which  the  exegesis  will  hereafter  have  to  confirm,  is  shown  by  the 
very  statement  of  the  contents.  If  we  then  inquire  concerning  the  circumstances,  under 
which  the  prophecy  arose,  we  must  reject,  at  the  outset,  the  arbitrary  attempts  at  division 
into  parts  by  Rosen  muller,  and  Maurer,  according  to  whom  a  chronological  intercalation, 
namely,  the  invasion  of  the  ChaUlzeans,  should  be  made  between  chaps,  i.  and  ii.  Tha 
dialogue  is  continued  beyond  the  beginning  of  chap.  ii.  Also  for  the  gradual  chronological 
progress,  which  Hitzig  finds  indicated  in  the  book  (that  the  enemy  is  approaching,  chap.  i. ; 
tliat  he  is  present,  chap,  iii.),  there  is  neither  a  firm  support,  nor  a  psychological  possibility 
of  conceiving  it.  The  [command  to]  "Keep  silence  before  Jehovah"  (ii.  20),  is  evidently 
an  introduction  to  the  liymn,  in  which  the  prophecy  culminates.  While  the  woes  ii.  6  ff., 
whirh  do  not  exhibit  the  judgment  itself,  but  its  necessity,  are  still  sounding  over  the  earth, 
the  world  is  summoned  to  hsten  to  Him,  whose  coming  the  hymn  announces. 

One  may  accordingly,  witiiout  danger  of  error,  assume  a  single  point  of  time  for  the  com- 
position. But  when  is  this  to  be  sought?  Finding  that  Habakkuk  puts  emphasis  on  that 
which  is  unexpected  and  wonderful  in  the  announcement,  which  he  (i.  5)  certainly  utters 
with  great  stress,  many  interpreters  have  been  induced  to  maintain,  that  he  must  have  proph- 
esied at  a  time,  when  there  was  not  even  the  most  distant  suspicion  that  any  calamity  was 
to  be  apprehended  from  the  Chaldfeans.  Now  in  2  Kings  xxi.  10  fi".  (comp.  2  Chron.  xxxiii. 
10),  it  is  expressly  stated,  that  under  Manasseh  (698-643),  the  successor  of  Hezekiah,  the 
prophets  announce  d  the  approach  of  a  terrible  calamity,  at  which  the  ears  of  the  people 
should  tingle.  Among  these  prophets  accordingly  Habakkuk  may  be  numbered ;  and  this 
may  be  the  situation  [of  things]  in  which  he  wrote.  This  opinion  of  Wahl,  Jahn,  Haver- 
nick,  and  others,  Keil  also  declares  the  most  probable.  But  should  the  incredible  circum- 
stance of  the  prophecy  lie  in  the  fact  that  it  speaks  of  the  Chaldaeans,  then  to  refer  its  date 
to  the  time  of  Manasseh  would  not  be  sufficiently  in  keeping  with  this  vievr.  Ah-eady  under 
Hezekiah,  his  predecessors  (Micah  iv.  10,  and  Isaiah  xxxix.  23,  13)  had  foreseen  the  power 
of  the  Chaldaeans.  The  incredibility  lies  rather  in  the  preseiitlij  impending  approach  of 
the  Chaldaeans  :  and  the  narrative  (Jer.  xxxvi,  9-32),  proves  that  this,  until  immediately 
before  their  first  invasion  of  Palestine,  in  the  time  of  Jehoiakim,  was  considered  something 
incredible  and  not  to  be  announced.  And  in  the  calamity  predicted  by  the  prophets  in  the 
time  of  Manasseh,  the  chronicler  perceives  already  the  expedition  of  Assarhaddon  (2  Chron. 
xxxiii.  11;  compare  ver.  10).  (Compare,  moreover,  Introd.  to  Nahum,  p.  4  f.,  and  Movers, 
ChroniL,  p.  327  fF.)  Moreover  the  energy  of  the  proplietic  words  (i.  5)  is  a  peculiarity  of  pro- 
phetic diction,  and  affords  no  ground  for  supporting  the  historical  date  ;  but  rather  the  adjoined 
clause,  "  in  your  days,"  which  is  to  be  read  in  the  same  verse,  and  which  has  hei-e  a  special 
emphasis  (comp.  Ez.  xii.  25)  in  the  mouth  of  the  prophet,  proves,  as  Delitzsch  acknowledges, 
that  this  prophec}-  must  be  placed  considerably  nearer  the  catastrophe  of  which  it  treats, 
than  the  reign  of  Manasseh,  which  was  separated  from  the  invasion  of  the  Chaldaeans  by 
more  than  a  generation.  It  is  besides  hardly  conceivable,  how  just  in  the  time  of  Manasseh, 
in  which  the  worship  of  Jehovah  was  forced  to  give  way  to  idolatry  (2  Chron.  xxxiii.  4  f.;  2 
Kings  xxi.  4  f.),  Habakkuk  should  have  composed  the  psalm,  chap,  iii.,  for  the  public  ser- 
vice :  it  [the  psalm]  rather  presupposes  that  the  ecclesiastical  reforms  of  Josiah  (641-610) 
had  already  taken  root  in  the  popular  life.  Add  to  this,  finally,  that  the  Chaldaeans  are  not 
merely  mentioned,  but  their  wild  appearance  and  their  vast  success  are  described  with  an 
exactness  and  fullness,  from  which  it  is  evident  that  the  powerful  nation  was,  in  the  time  of 
the  prophet,  already  on  the  way  and  had  acquired  for  itself  a  terrible  name.  This  last  ar- 
gument contravenes  the  opinion  of  Vitringa,  Delitzsch,  and  others,  who  would  like  to  place 
iius  prophecy  at  least  in  the  age  of  Josiah.  Further,  the  description  of  the  public  life,  with 
which  Habakkuk  (i.  2-4)  introduces  the  announcement  of  the  judgment,  is  opposed  to  this 
•econd  date.     For  should  the  prophccv  fall  in  the  time  of  Josiah,  it  would  fall  either  before. 


INTRODUCTION. 


or  after  his  reforms  The  former  is  impossible,  since  it  presupposes,  as  observed  above,  the 
reform  of  worship.  But  if  it  is  placed  after  the  reform,  then  the  description  of  the  ruined 
condition  of  Israel,  could  not,  as  Delitzsch  thinks,  be  so  understood  that  the  reforms  intro- 
duced a  time  ( f  winnowing  and  consequently  a  strong  contrast  between  the  godless  and  the 
rigliteous ;  for  Habakkuk  says  nothing  of  such  a  contrast,  but  he  speaks  of  a  perversion  of 
justice,  which,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  does  not  come  from  below,  but  from  above  :  his  ad- 
dress (i.  2  ff. ;  as  also  in  chap.  ii.  9  ff.  again)  is  directed  against  those  in  high  authority, 
1  inally  the  words,  "  in  your  days,"  if  spoken  in  the  time  of  Josiah,  would  be  in  direct  con- 
tradiction to  the  prophecy  of  the  prophetess  Huldah  (2  Kings  xxii.  18  ff.),  according  tc 
which  the  calamity  was  not  to  fall  upon  Judah  in  the  lifetime  of  Josiah.  Nothing  remains,  1 
therefore,  but  to  place  this  prophecy  in  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  (GlO-.'iDQ).  So  De  Wette,] 
Ewald,  Umbreit,  Hitzig,  Baumlein,  Bleck. 

Indeed  all  the  circumstantial  evidence  is  also  in  favor  of  this  time.  Babylon  had  sud- 
denly risen  as  from  nothing  [r/em  Nichts,  the  nothing,  Kenoma  —  C.  E.],  in  the  time  of 
Jehoiakim,  by  the  overthrow  of  Nineveh  (comp.  In  trod,  to  Nahum  iv.),  to  the  summit  of 
power.  It  was  a  spectacle  in  wliich  Nahum  also  perceived  a  stupendous  act  of  God.  Tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  complications  in  Mesopotamia,  Necho  King  of  Egypt  had  alreadv 
previously  set  out,  seized  the  kingdoms  on  the  Mediterranean,  and  had  deprived  King  Josiah 
who  manfully  opposed  him  in  the  battle  of  Megiddo  (vi.  10),  of  throne  and  life;  had  alsc 
carried  away  Jehoahaz,  his  legitimate  successor  to  the  tlrrone,  into  Egypt,  and  put  in  his 
place  Jehoiakim,  a  weak  and  impious  man,  as  King  over  Judah  (2  Kinirs  xxiii.  37-xxiv, 
4).  His  expeditions  advanced  continually  onward,  whilst  the  Babylonian  and  Median 
armies  were  held  fast  before  Nineveh ;  and  already  had  he  pushed  forward  to  the  Euphrates, 
when  Nineveh  fell.  Immediately  Nebuchadnezzar  marched  against  him  with  his  Babylon- 
ians exulting  in  victory,  annihilated,  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  b.  c.  605,  the  Egyp- 
tian power  at  Carchemish  (Circesium)  on  the  Euphrates  (Jer.  xlvi.  2;  Jos.,  Ant.,  x.  6,  1) 
and  pursued  the  fugitives  even  to  the  borders  of  Egypt.  That  during  this  career  of  victory 
Jehoiakim  also,  the  creature  of  Necho,  did  not  escape  without  trouble,  is  not  merely  prob- 
able and  to  be  inferred  from  the  direction  of  the  march,  but  by  the  numerous  allusions  ic 
Jeremiah,  as  well  as  by  2  Kings  xxiv.  1,  and  Dan.  i.  2,  certain.  (That  Daniel  mentions  the 
third  year  of  Jehoiakim  instead  of  the  fourth,  has  its  ground  probably  in  a  different  system 
of  calculation;  comp.  Niebuhr,  Gesch.  Ass.  u.  Babels  S.,  327  [_Hist.  Ass.  and  Babylon,  p, 
327]). 

It  is  now  certain  that  Habakkuk  prophesied  before  this  invasion  of  the  Babylonians,  for 
as  yet  Jerusalem  is  in  a  state  of  secure  and  godless  infatuation  (i.  2  ff.).  Just  as  certain  is 
it  that  his  prophecy  does  not  refer  to  that  alone :  it  embraces  the  whole  Chaldaean  oppres- 
sion, which  found  its  consummation  in  the  year  588.  But  if  we  inquire  more  specially  for 
the  definite  time  of  his  prophecy  within  the  years  610-605,  then  it,  as  also  the  scene  de- 
scribed Jer.  xxxvi.  9  ff.,  must  be  placed  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  and  immediately 
before  the  battle  of  Carchemish.  Only  from  this  situation,  in  which  the  distress  is  certainly 
already  approaching  (comp.  the  fast,  Jer.  xxxvi.  9,  which  was  at  all  events  appointed  upon 
Necho's^  arrangement),  a  situation  in  which  the  decisive  blow  had  not  yet  fallen,  there  be- 
ing still  good  confidence  in  Jerusalem,  can  both  the  following  circumstances  be  understood  • 
namely,  that  Habakkuk  proclaims  his  message  as  something  incredible  —  (it  was  indeed  in- 
credible that  the  power  of  the  Egyptians  regarded,  since  the  battle  of  Megiddo,  as  invinci- 
ble, should  be  overthrown  by  this  people  of  yesterday)  —  and  that  Jehoiakim  causes  the 
similar  message  of  Jeremiah  to  be  destroyed  as  treason  —  (had  the  battle  of  Carchemish 
been  fought,  then  the  message  of  Jeremiah  was  not  only  no  treason,  but  such  as  one  might 
expect)  ;  and  also,  that  Habakkuk  had  sufficient  reason  to  describe  the  Chaldaeans  in  the 
manner  in  which  he  has  done,  i.  G  ff.  Comjiare  on  i.  II.  That  in  the  time  between  Josiah's 
death  and  the  fall  of  Necho  such  a  state  of  things,  as  described  in  Hab.  i.  2  ff.  must  have 
existed  in  Jerusalem,  is  considering  the  character  of  Jehoiakim,  the  Vassal-prince,  who  was 
reigning  illegally  [wider  das  RecJit,  contrary  to  right],  more  than  probable.  And  as  the  old 
laconic  rabbinical  document  (^Seder  Olam  rabba,  c.  24)  records  the  great  deeds  of  Nebuchad 
uezzar ;  "  in  the  first  year  he  overthrew  Nineveh,  in  the  second,  Jehoiakim ;  "  it  thus  affbrdu 
a  beautiful  parallel  to  the  consecutive  prophecies  of  Nahum  and  Habakkuk. 

Against  the  date  just  given,  Delitzsch  urges  the  coincidences  between  Habakkuk  and  th« 

I  [There  is  no  intimation  in  Jer.  xxivi.  9  that  Necho  had  anything  to  do  with  the  fast.     See  Lange's  Com   on  J" 
tixTi.  9  —  C.  E.l 


HABAKKUK. 


prophecies  of  Zepbaniah  and  Jeremiah  written  in  the  time  of  Josiah.  In  relation  to  Zcph- 
aniah,  only  the  passage,  ii.  20,  comp.  Zeph.  i.  7,  "  keep  silence  befoie  the  Lord,"  comes  intc 
consideration.  However  the  proof  based  upon  conformity  of  sound  is  always  two-edged; 
therefore  relatively  without  edge.  If  it  must  be  conceded  that  Zepbaniah  has  very  many 
passages  from  older  prophets,  it  does  not  at  all  follow  from  this,  that  be  must  be  pressed 
down  to  such  a  measure  of  dependence,  that  he  has  nothing  original,  and  that  wheresoever 
he  coincides  with  another  prophet  he  is  always  the  borrower.  Or  will  Delitzsch  on  account 
of  Zeph.  i.  18  (comp.  Ezek.  vii.  19),  make  Ezekiel  also  prophecy  before  Zepbaniah?  And 
if  Delitzsch  urges  the  more  detailed  form  of  the  sentence  [rfes  Spruchs,  sentence,  judgment], 
in  Habakkuk  as  a  proof  of  originality,  then  there  is  no  ground  to  deviate,  in  Habakkuk,  from 
the  common  principle  of  criticism,  that  the  briefer  passage  has  for  itself  the  prejudice  in 
favor  of  the  higher  antiquity.  On  the  one  hand,  it  is  not  in  the  fact  that  he  would  gen- 
erally be  absolutely  original,  which  Delitzsch  himself  in  regard  to  the  passages  ii.  1-13  ;  iii. 
18  (which  might  be  easily  multiplied)  (comp.  Micah  iii.  10 ;  Is.  xi.  9  ;  Micah  vii.  7),  must 
grant ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  indeed  also  in  regard  to  other  prophets  a  borrower, 
who  enriches  what  he  borrows;  comp.,  e.  g.,  ii.  15  ff.  with  Nab.  iii.  11  ;  ii.  1-4  with  Is.  xxviii. 
16.  If  finally  Delitzsch  thinks  that  he  can  draw  a  proof  for  the  higher  antiquity  of  Habak- 
kuk from  the  fact  that  in  Zepbaniah  a  decline  of  the  prophetic  originality  is  manifested,  still 
this  subjective  observation  even  according  to  the  opinion  of  Delitzsch  does  not  proceed  upon 
a  chronological  ground  —  for  he  can,  at  the  most,  fix  a  difference  of  six  years  between  their 
prophecies  —  but  upon  an  individual  [ground].  Just  as  the  coincidences  with  Zepbaniah, 
so  also  those  with  Jeremiah  are  capable  of  a  double  turn.  There  is  no  reason  whatever 
why  the  leopards  (Hab.  i.  8),  should  be  more  original  than  the  eagles  (Jer.  iv.  13),  and  why 
the  wolves  of  the  desert  (Jer.  v.  6),  should  be  later  than  the  evening  wolves  (Hab.  i.  8),  which 
besides  referring  to  Ps.  lix.  are  perhaps  borrowed  from  Zeph.  iii.  3. 

But  the  argument,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  Delitzsch,  is  most  conclusive,  namely,  that  if 
Habakkuk  had  predicted  the  Chaldsean  catastrophe  so  long  before  it  happened,  a  proof  of  the 
inspiration  of  his  prophecy  is  derived  from  this  prophetic  power,  is  not,  on  several  grounds, 
determinative.  First,  because  it  is  an  argument  ex  utilltate.  Next,  because  it  does  not  at 
a11  need  this :  we  have  an  argument  belonging  here  in  Is.  xxxix.,  which  even  invalidates  the 
one  offered  by  Delitzsch,  since  Habakkuk  would  take  up  again  and  continue  Isaiah.  Finally, 
from  the  fact  that  prophets  predicted  future  events  long  beforehand  (to  deny  which  in  these 
days  is  nothing  new),  a  proof  of  inspiration  is  derived  only  for  him  who  is  entirely  skeptical 
in  regard  to  the  divination  of  the  heathen  and  its  verification,  which  is  not  seldom  elevated 
above  all  opposition.  The  proof  of  inspiration  lies  not  merely  in  the  gift  of  foretelling  indi- 
didual  temporal  events,  but  much  deeper.  (Comp.  Diisterdieck,  De  Rei  Propheticce,  in  V.  T. 
natura  ethica,  Gott.,  1852).  If  Habakkuk  had  written  only  the  single  declaration  ii.  4,  it 
would  have  afforded  a  stronger  proof  of  his  inspiration  to  him  who  believes,  than  if  he  had 
foretold,  in  the  time  of  Abraham,  the  fall  of  Babylon.  But  to  him  who  is  not  open  to  con- 
viction, even  the  proof  from  foretelling  events,  at  such  a  distance,  is  of  no  value,  as  Delitzsch 
himself  might  see  from  the  contemptible  treatment  which  his  honest  labor  had  to  endure  from 
Hitzig.      Comp.  infra,  p.  15. 

[According  to  the  contents  of  the  prophecy,  Habakkuk  prophesied  before  the  invasion  of 
Palestine  by  the  Chaldaeans. 

1.  Vitringa,  Delitzsch,  Kiiper,  and  others  refer  his  prophecy  to  the  time  of  Josiah,  between 
650  and  627  before  Christ:  — 

(a)  According  to  chap.  i.  5,  about  20-30  years  before  the  Chaldsean  invasion  (Delitzsch)  ; 

(b)  According  to  chap.  ii.  20,  compared  with  Zeph.  i.  7,  shortly  before  Zepbaniah  (Kiiper, 
Caspari) ; 

(c)  According  to  chap.  i.  8  compared  with  Jer.  iv.  13  and  v.  6,  before  the  appearance  of 
Jeremiah,  consequently  before  the  13th  year  of  Josiah  (Keil,  Introd.). 

2.  According  to  some  Rabbins,  Witsius,  Buddeus,  Carpzov,  Wahl,  Kofod,  Jahn,  Havep* 
nick,  Keil  (^Comm.),  Habakkuk  prophesied  in  the  time  of  Manasseh. 

3.  According  to  Stickel,  Jager,  Knobel,  Maurer,  Ewald,  De  Wette,  Kleinert,  during  th« 
advance  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  the  time  of  Jehoiakira. 

4.  According  to  Eichhorn,  Bertheau,  Justi,  AVolf,  and  others,  in  the  time  of  the  deTasta* 
liop  of  the  land  of  Judah  by  the  Chaldaeans,  so  that  the  prophecy  of  Habakkuk  would  be 
3nly  a  vaticiniura  ex  eventu.  Hertwig's  TabeJlen.  C.  E.] 


INTKODUCTION. 


[lienormant  and  Cbevallier  date  the  prophecy  of  Habakkuk  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim, 
when  Necho,  King  of  Egypt,  was  defeated  by  Nebuchadnezzar  at  Carchemish.  Vol.  i.  p.  186, 
—  C.  E.] 

m.  Author. 

If  Habakkuk,  as  we  have  shown,  prophesied  under  Jehoiakim,  then  of  course  he  could 
have  been  still  living,  when  Daniel  was  cast  into  the  lions'  den.  Notwithstanding  the  apoc- 
ryphal narrative  of  [Bel  and  the]  Dragon,  which  (ver.  33  ff.)  causes  him  to  be  carried  by  an 
angel  to  Babylon,  to  the  martyr,  has,  judging  from  its  whole  character,  little  probability,  yet 
it  is  so  far  interesting,  as  it  shows  how  even  the  old  Jewish  tradition  removes  the  ministry 
of  the  prophet  to  the  vei-y  closest  proximity  to  the  Clialdaean  catastrophe.  Moreover,  De- 
litzsch  also  thinks  that  the  superscription  of  this  apocryphon  in  the  LXX.  (Cod.  Chisianus)  : 
'EiK  Trpo^T/retus  'A/x/3a/cou/x.  uiou  'Irjcrov  eK  tt}?  cfivXr]^  Aevt,  can  be  turned  to  good  account  for 
the  purpose  of  determining  the  circumstances  of  the  prophet's  life.  He  combines  it  with  the 
rubric  at  the  end  of  the  psalm  (chap.  iii.  19)  in  which  the  prophet  directs  that  the  hymn, 
when  sung,  be  accompanied  by  his  stringed  instrument.  From  that  circumstance  Delitzsch 
(and  after  him  Keil)  concludes  that  Habakkuk  must  have  been  officially  authorized  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  temple-music,  and  must  accordingly  have  been  a  Levite.  But  this  does  not 
follow  from  the  notice  iii.  19  ;  we  read  that  King  Hezekiah  also,  who  was  no  Levite,  declared 
that  he  would  sing  in  the  temple  with  his  stringed  instrument  (Is.  xxxviii.  20)  ;  consequently 
this  practice  in  public  worship  was  not  confined  to  the  Levites.  Thus  the  assumption  is 
based  simply  upon  that  direction  [that  the  hymn  should  be  accompanied  in  its  performanc<j 
by  his  stringed  instrument],  and  is  the  more  questionable,  as  it  may  possibly  owe  its  origin 
to  some  ancient,  who  led  the  way  to  the  conclusion  of  Delitzsch  :  another  tradition  refers 
Habakkuk  to  the  tribe  of  Simeon.  (Compare  this  and  similar  synagogal-Christian  tradi- 
tions in  the  careful  critical  collection  of  Delitzsch,  De  Habacuci  Proph.  vita  et  jEtate). 
Whether  the  grave  of  Habakkuk,  which  continued  to  be  pointed  out  in  the  days  of  Eusebius 
and  Hieitjnymus  {Onom.,  ed.  Parsow  et  Parthey,  128  ff.)  between  Keila  ani  Gabatha,  was 
the  true  one,  cannot  be  affirmed  with  certainty. 

For  more  certain  data  concerning  the  circumstances  of  his  life,  we  are  consequently  di- 
rected entirely  to  his  book  ;  and  this  furnishes  us  with  no  information,  apart  from  the  char- 
acteristic condition  of  the  time,  except  his  name  and  the  notice  that  he  was  a  prophet  (i.  1  ; 
iii.  1).  The  name  Habakkuk  is  formed,  according  to  an  elsewhere  occurring  derivation,  by 
the  reduplication  of  the  third  radical  and  an  inserted  shurck  ("li"lDE7  y^'^'32,  etc.,  Olsh.,  sec. 
187  b  from  the  root  l^^Tl,  to  embrace.  (Compare  Luther,  below.)  The  Masoretic  punctua- 
tion exhibits  the  phenomenon  common  to  all  languages,  that  proper  names  frequently  de- 
viate, in  the  manner  of  writing  them,  from  the  rule  of  the  customary  orthography.  Accord- 
ing to  the  analogy  of  the  related  forms  it  should  be  pointed  ppZlC*  Besides  daghesh  forte 
euphonicum  has  not  always  been  read  in  the  p,  but,  e.  g.,  by  the  LXX  in  the  3;  hence  the 
rendering  'A/x/JaKoi'/x,  in  which  it  [p,']  is  represented  by  //,  a  sound  more  euphonious  to  the 
Greek.  The  final  /x  of  this  form  is  repeated  from  the  close  of  the  antepenult,  because  it  wasi 
dissonant  to  the  Greek  ear  to  begin  and  end  a  syllable  with  the  same  consonant.  In  the 
same  way,  2^3?    ^275  ^^^  been  rendered  BeeA^e^ouA.  (Hitzig). 

IV.  Place  in  the  Organism  of  Scripture. 

As  Nahum  is  important  in  the  succession  of  prophecy  in  that  he  concludes  the  Assyrian 
series;  so  is  Habakkuk  in  that  he  (with  Jeremiah)  begins  the  Babylonian  (comp.  Obadiah,p, 
11).  The  description  of  the  Chaldsean  runs  parallel  with  that  of  the  Assyrian  (Is.  v.)  On  the 
other  hand,  chap.  3  fits  into  the  series  of  the  Old  Testament  theophanies,  which,  resting  upon 
the  first  coming  of  Jehovah  to  give  the  law,  describe  his  second  coming  to  vindicate  it,  and 
it  forms  a  conclusion  to  this  method  [of  describing  his  coming].  From  the  time  of  the  exile 
onward  the  coming  of  God  to  judgment  is  represented  no  more  in  the  form  of  the  theophany 
but  in  that  of  the  apocalypse. 

But  alongside  of  the  external  importance  of  the  book  there  is  an  internal  one.  The 
ground  lines  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  they  come  to  light  in  the  divine  economy  of  the 
world,  are  in  few  prophets  so  strongly  r.  arked  as  in  Habakkuk.     The  character,  in  whict 


HABAKKUK. 


.he  world-power  enters  into  the  circle  of  God's  nd ministration  of  his  kingdom  ati  be- 
:'omes  an  object  of  the  judgment,  is  fully  delineated  in  the  three  sentences,  that  are  com 
plementary  to  each  other,  namely,  from  him  emanate  his  right  and  his  majesty  (i.  7)  , 
his  soul  is  puffed  up,  it  is  not  right  in  him  (ii.  4)  ;  he  is  guilty,  whose  power  is  his  god  (i. 
11).  The  sovereign  insolence  of  self-glory,  which  in  pure  arrogance  puts  itself  in  the 
place  of  God  as  judge  upon  earth,  is  the  cause  of  the  judgment :  thereby  all  the  temporal 
manifestations  of  that  which  is  opposed  to  God,  from  Gen.  xi.  until  the  time  of  the  end  are 
judged.  Again,  the  characteristics  of  the  fate  of  the  kingdom  are  given  in  the  sentences : 
the  just  shall  live  by  his  steadfast  faith  (ii.  4)  ;  I  must  wait  calmly  for  the  day  of  afflic- 
tion (iii.  16)  ;  I  will  rejoice  in  God  my  salvation  (iii.  18).  The  way  of  him,  who  stands 
fast  upon  the  Word  of  God,  —  a  way  marked  by  humility  and  fidelity  —  must  lead  to  salva- 
tion. It  is  the  mutual  relation  of  the  stability  of  the  divine  word  (ii.  3)  and  of  the  sta- 
bility of  him  who  perseveres  in  it,  whereby  the  solidarity  ^  between  God  and  the  subjects 
of  his  kingdom,  which  is  indicated  by  the  name  b^'P'  £J^'^^^?  0-  ^2),  and  whereby  the  im- 
potence and  self-destructive  character  of  all  attacks  directed  against  this  mutual  covenant, 
are  characterized.  But  from  the  spiritual  nature  of  these  definitions  \_Beiitimmungen,  de- 
fined objects]  arises  a  spiritual  limitation  of  the  idea  of  Israel.  It  is  no  longer  the  Israel 
according  to  the  flesh,  to  whom  the  promise  avails  in  its  full  extent  :  they  [Israel  according 
to  the  flesh]  are  the  object  of  the  Divine  judgment,  as  well  as  the  Babylonians  (i.  2  ff. ; 
ii.  9  ff.)  ;  but  it  is  the  Israel  according  to  the  spirit,  the  jusi.  jy  faith,  who  are  separated  bj 
the  judgment  out  of  the  mass  of  external  Israel  (i.  12).  With  clear  penetration  Paul,  when 
it  was  his  object  to  place  in  the  light  this  difference  in  its  New  Testament  fulfillment, 
set  his  foot  directly  upon  the  Old  Testament  foundation  of  this  prophet.  One  does 
wrong  to  the  epoch-forming  significance  of  this  prophet,  if  he  restricts  his  book  merely  tc 
the  import  of  a  book  of  consolation.  With  similar  precision  is  the  character  also  of  thf 
judgment  of  purification  delineated  :  Thou,  rock,  hast  appointed  him,  the  enemy,  for  instruct- 
ive chastisement  (i.  12).  And  out  of  the  old  conception  of  the  holiness  of  God,  according 
to  which  it  (holiness)  is  his  relation  to  the  elect  people  (i.  12),  the  new  conception,  which 
is  ethical  in  its  elements,  struggles  forth.  Thou  canst  not  look  calmly  upon  evil  (i.  13). 
Ne.xt  to  Isaiah  xl.  ff.  Habakkuk  is  the  most  powerful  evangelist  among  the  prophets. 

Concerning  the  coincidences  with  earlier  prophets  compare  ii.  above.  They  are  more 
n  amerous  than  in  Nahum,  however  proportionally  few.  On  the  other  hand,  a  rich  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Psalms  is  a  characteristic  of  this  prophet,  as  it  is  of  Micah  and  Nahum,  a 
characteristic  corresponding  to  the  IvtIc  character  of  the  book.  On  this  point  compare  the 
Exegetical  Exposition,  chap.  iii. 

His  place  in  the  Canon  is  justified  not  only  by  the  close  relationship  of  the  contents  to 
those  of  Nahum,  but  also  by  the  inscription  :  just  as  the  massaim  are  placed  together  in  the 
book  of  Isaiah,  so  also  are  they  in  the  book  of  the  Minor  Prophets.  Luther  ^  :  Habakkuk 
has  a  right  name  for  his  office.  For  Habakkuk  means  an  embracer,  or  one  who  takes  an- 
other in  his  arms  and  presses  liim  to  his  heart.  This  he  does  in  his  prophecy :  he  embracei 
his  people  and  takes  them  in  his  arms,  i.  e.,  he  comforts  them  and  holds  them  up,  as  one  em- 
braces a  weeping  child  or  person,  to  quiet  him  with  the  assurance,  that,  if  God  will,  he  will 
be  better. 

5.  Literature. 

Separate  Commentaries.  Wolfg.  Fabr.  Capito,  Enarrationes  in  Proph.  Hab.,  Argent, 
1526.  J.  D.  Grynaeus,  Hypomnemoneumata  in  Hab.,  Bas.,  1582,  8vo.  Ant.  Agelli,  Comm.  in 
P.  H.,  Ant.,  1597.  S.  v.  Til,  Phosphorux  Prophet icus  S.  Mosis  et  Hahacuci  Vaticinia,  etc., 
Lugd.  Bat.,  1700,  4to.  Abarbanel,  Comm.  rabb.Hehr.  et  Lat.,  ed.  St.  Sprecher,  Helmst.,  1709. 
J.  G.  Kalinsky,  Hubacnci  et  Nahiimi  Vaticinia  illustr.,  Vratisl.,  1748,  4to.  A.  Chrysander, 
Genaue  Uebersetzung  und  buchstdblicher  Verstand  dex  P.  Hab.  [An  Exact  Translation  and  ijit- 
eral  Sense  of  the  P.  Hab.],  Rint.,  1752,  4to.  C.  F.  Sfaudlin,  Hosea,  Nahum  und  Habakuk 
nnsfjelegt  [Hos.,  Nah.,  and  Hab.  explained],  Stuttg.,  1786.  F.  G.  Wahl,  Der  Prophet  Hab- 
afruk  uhersetzt  und  erkldrl  [The  Prophet  Habakkuk  translated  and  interpreted].  Ham.,  1790 
Birger  Kofod,  Chabacuci  Vatic.,    Havn.,  1792.      G.   C.  Horst,  Die  Visionen  Habakuks  [The 

1  [Solidarity  :  the  mutu.il  obliRation  of  all  to  each  and  of  each  to  all.  —  C.  E.] 

•i  Luther's  Commnuary  on  Habakkuk  (Erfurt,  1526)  affords  the  peculiar  historical  interest,  in  that  it  is  (lireotec 
•hrouf^hout  in  a  polemic  m.anner,  against  the  nobility  and  the  bishops,  who  barbarously  made  the  most  of  their  victory 
>Ter  the  insurrectionary  peasants.     In  the  extracts  given  below  this  reference  is  of  course  left  out. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Visions  of  Habakkuk],  Gotha,  1798.  K.  W.  Justi,  Ber  Prophet  Habakuk  iibersetzt  und  erh- 
Idrt  [The  Prophet  Habakkuk  translated  and  interpreted],  Lpz.,  1821.  A.  A.  WolfF,  Det 
Prophet  Habakuk  [The  Prophet  Habakkuk],  Darmst.,  1822.  G.  L.  Baumlein,  Comm.  de 
Habacuci  Vaticinio,  Maulbr.,  1840,  4to.  F.  Delitzsch,  Der  Prophet  Habakuk  ausgelegt  [The 
Prophet  Habakkuk  interpreted],  Lpz.,  1843.  Jo.  Gumpach,  Der  Prophet  Habakuk  nach 
dem  genau  revidirten  Text  erkldrt  [The  Prophet  Habakkuk  interpreted  according  to  the  ac- 
curately revised  text],  Miinch.,  1860.  A.  Schroder,  on  chap,  ill.,  Diss,  in  Cant.  Habacuci, 
Gera.,  1787.  Ch.  F.  Schnurrer,  Diss.  phil.  ad  Carmen  Hab.  Hi.,  Tub.,  1786,  4to.  J.  G. 
Herder,  Gebet  Habakuks  des  Propheten,  im  Geist  der  hebr.  Poesie  [Praver  of  the  Prophet 
Habakkuk,  in  the  spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry],  WW.,  1827,  ii.  176  ff.  K.  G.  Anton,  Cap.  Hi. 
Hab.  Versio,  etc.,  GorUc,  1810,  4to.  Stickel,  Prolusio  ad  Cap.  3  Hab.,  Neustadt,  1827.  L. 
Hirzel,  Ueberdie  hist.  DeutuugvonHab.  Hi.  3-15  ;  in  Winer  u.  Engelhardt,  Neues  krit.  Journal 
[Concerning  the  Historical  Interpretation  of  Hab.  iii.  3-15;  in  Winer  and  Engelhardt,  New 
Critical  Journal],  1827,  vii.,  4to.  Sommer,  Bibl.  Abhandlungen  [Biblical  Dissertations],  i, 
1  ff. 

Separate  Treatises.  J.  G.  Abicht,  De  Vaticinio  Habac,  Gedan,  1722.  F.  C.  A. 
Hanlein,  Symb.  Critt.  ad  interjyrelat.  Hab.,  Erl.,  1795.  A.  C.  Ranitz,  Introd.  in  Hab.  Vat., 
Lps.,  1808.  Valentin,  Comm.  in  Hab.  capp.  prima  Spec,  Hal.,  1834.  F.  Delitzsch,  De  Hab. 
Proph.  Vita  atque  JEtate,  Lps.,  1842,  ed.  2  ;  Ueber  Abfassungszeit  und  Plan  der  Prophetie  Haba- 
kuks  in  Rud.  u.  Guer.  Zeitschrift  [Concerning  the  Date  and  Plan  of  the  Prophecy  of  Habak- 
kuk, in  Rud.  and  Guer.  Journal],  1842,  i.  Dav.  Chytraeus,  Lectiones  in  Proph.  Hab.,  in  his 
works,  torn.  ii.  [Helv.  Garthii,  Comm.  in  Proph.  Hab.,  Vitebergse,  1605.  G.  A.  Ruperti, 
Explicatio,  cap.  i.  et  ii.  Chab.,  in  the  Commentati.  TheoL,  ed.  Velthusen,  Kuinoel,  and  Ruperti, 
iii.  p.  405  ff.  Moerner,  Hymnus  Hab.  vers,  ac  nolis  phil.  et  crit.  illustr.,  Upsalae,  :  791,  4to. 
B.  Ludwig,  Translations  and  Expositions  [of  Hab.],  Frankfort,  17  79.  See  Keil's  Introd.  tc 
the  O.  T.  —  C.  E.] 


HABAKKUK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

\^The  Prophet  commences  by  setting  forth  the  Cause  of  the  Chaldcean  Invasion^  whiek 
forms  the  Burden  of  his  Prophecy.  This  Cause  was  the  great  Wickedness  of 
the  Jeioish  Nation  at  the  Time  he  flourished  (vers.  2—4).  Jehovah  is  intro- 
duced as  summoning  Attention  to  that  Invasion  (ver.  5).  The  Prophet  describei 
the  Appearance,  Character,  and  Operations  of  the  Invaders  (vers.  6-11).— 
C.  E.] 

1  The  burden,  which  Habakkuk  the  prophet  saw. 

2  How  long,  Jehovah,  do  I  cry  ? 
And  thou  hearest  not  ? 

I  cry  to  thee,  Violence, 
And  thou  helpest  not. 

3  Why  dost  thou  let  me  see  wickedness  ? 
And  [why]  dost  thou  look  upon  distress  ? 
Oppression  and  violence  are  before  me  ; 

And  there  is  strife,  and  contention  exalts  itsel£ 

4  Therefore  the  law  is  slack  ;  ^ 
Justice  no  more  ^  goes  forth  ; 

For  the  wicked  compass  about  the  righteous ; 
Therefore  justice  goes  forth  perverted. 

5  Look  among  the  nations  and  see  !  ' 
And  be  ye  amazed,^  be  amazed  ; 

For  I  am  about  to  work  ■*  a  work  in  your  days  . 
Ye  will  not  believe  it,  though  it  were  told. 

6  For  behold  !  ^  I  am  about  to  raise  up  the  Chaldaeans, 
That  bitter  and  impetuous  nation, 

Which  marches  over  the  breadths  of  the  earth, 

To  take  possession  of  dwelling-places,  that  do  not  belong  to  it> 

7  It  is  terrible  and  dreadful : 

Its  right  and  its  eminence  proceed  from  itsel£ 

8  And  swifter  than  leopards  are  its  horses, 
And  speedier  than  the  evening  wolves  : 
Its  horsemen  spring  ^  proudly  along, 
And  its  horsemen  come  from  afar : 

They  fly  like  an  eagle  hastening  to  devour. 


HABAKKUK. 


9  It  comes  wholly  for  violence  : 

The  host ''  of  their  faces  is  forward  ; 
And  it  collects  captives  like  the  sand. 

10  And  it  scoffs  at  kings  ; 

And  princes  are  a  laughter  to  it : 
It  laughs  at  every  stronghold, 
And  heaps  up  earth  and  takes  it. 

11  Then  its  spirit  revives,® 

And  it  passes  on  and  contracts  guilt : 
This  its  strength  is  its  god. 


GRAMMATICAL  AND  TEXXDAL. 

n  Ver.  4. n~lin  !!^Cn .     The  primary  idea  of  3!)S^  is  that  of  stifbess,  rigidity,  t.  e.  fngid  and  cold,  cold  airf 

ttiff  being  kindred  terms.     Compare  the  Greek  irriywoi,  to  be  stiff.     Trop.  to  be  torpid,  slusgish,  slack :  fiiget  lax. 

\i  Ver  4. ti'^tP^  n^3  '    S"'*"S  /"I  may  be  rendered  :  judgment  goeth  not  forth  according  to  truth.    Ges.    Bat 

I  ■  T  :   •         -  V  T       ••••  : 

n^3  V  signifies  also,  to  perpetiiitij,  forever;  and  connecting  it  with  S  .   it  gives  the  meaning  of  not  forever,  or  never. 

Bee  Keil.     LXX. :  Kal  ov  Sie^dyerai  eU  reko^  xpCfxa  ;  Vulgate  :   et  non  pervenit  usque  ad  finem  judicium  ;    Luther  :  und 

knnn  keine  reclite  Sache  geunnnen  ;   Kleinert :  iind  nicht  fallt  nach  Wahrheit  der  Rechtsspriich. 

[3  Ver.  5.  —  ^ni2in  ^nXSnm.  Double  form,  used  for  intensity'.  Compare  Isaiah  xxix.  9.  The  combination  of 
the  kal  with  the  hiphil  of  the  same  Verb  serves  to  strengthen  it,  so  as  to  express  the  highest  degree  of  amazement. 

[4  Ver.  5.— bub  denotes  that  which  is  immediately  at  hand.  Green's  Heb.  Gram.,  sec.  266,  2.  Nordheimer,  se©. 
1034,  3  a. 

[5  Ver.  6.  —  II:'^P!3  ''!3"3n"''3,  ecce  suscitatunis  sum.      '^2'2T1  before  the  participle  refers  to  the  future. 

[6  Ver.  8. ^ti72-1  from  ti?^^,  signifying  to  be  prnud,  to  s/ww  ojf  proudly ;  hence  of  a  horseman  leaping  proudly 

kod  fiercely.     The  sulgect  uf  thl<  verb,  Tti7"12,  may  be  translated  horses.    See  Ges.,  g.  t. 

[7  Ver.  9. ntt"*"!)"?   Cn^'DS    nS3^.     I  have  toUowed  Gesenius  in  the  translation  of  these  words.     LXX.:  ok- 

9ftrrnniTai  vrpocruirrois  aviiiv  e^evavrias ;  \'ulgate  :  fades  eoraiii  cent  us  urcns  ;  Luther:  rei,<:sen  sie  hindureh  wie  ein  Ost- 
wind  ;   Kleinert :   die  Gier  ihrer  Angesickter  slrcbl  nach  vorwarls. 

[8  Ver.  11. n-)"!    Hvn  TS,  then  his  spirit  revices.   Ges.    L.\X. :   rare  tiera^aKtl  to  irKeS/xa ;   Vulgate:    Tune  mu- 

tabitur  spiritus ;  Luther :  Alsdann  werden  sic  einen  neuen  Muth  nehmen ;  Keil :  Then  it  passes  along  a  wind  ;  Kleinert  • 
Jkmn  wendet  es  sich,  fin  sfirmwind ;  Henderson  :   it  gaineth  fresh  spirit.—  C.  E.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

In  the  heading  (comp.  the  Introd.)  this  proph- 
ecy is  designated  as  a  ^W72,  sentence :  compare 
on  Nah.  i.  1.  If  it  should  there,  as  in  Is.  xiii.  ff., 
on  account  of  the  subjoined  genitive  of  relation, 
sttill  seem  doubtful,  whether  the  prophecy  should 
not  be  taken  as  a  burden  prepared  against  Nin- 
eveh, Babylon,  etc.,  so  here,  where  this  genitive  is 
wanting  and  the  discourse  has  certainly  in  it  that 
which  ]jortains  to  a  burden,  but  still  much  more 
of  that  which  is  consolatory,  the  neuter  significa- 
tion of  the  word  is  just  as  plain  as  in  Jeremiah, 
Zechariah,  and  in  the  appendix  to  the  Proverbs. 

The  verb  "^jrji  which,  according  to  its  original 
signification,  "  to  see,"  would  seem  incapable  of 
being  joined  with  Massa,  can  be  used  with  it,  be- 
rause  "  to  see,"  the  most  common  expression  for 
the  prophetic  intuition  and  conception,  is  generally 
emploved  to  denote  prophetic  activity  [die  prophet- 
iiche  Thdtigkeit,  the  exercise  of  the  prophetic  gift. 
-C.  E.] 

The  "  vision  "  of  Isaiah  (cha]).  i.  ver.  1 )  em- 
braces threatenings,  complaints,  consolatory  ad- 
dresses, and  symbolical  actions.  There  is  just  as 
little  ground  to  deny  that  the  heading  proceeds 
from  tne  prophet  himself,  as  there  is  in  regard  to 
the  subscription  'chap.  iii.  ver.  19),  in  which  the 


prophet  speaks  of  himself  in  the  first  person.  Ac- 
cordingly it  is  a  general,  and  that  of  chap.  iii.  a 
special  heading. 

[Keil :  "  Ver.  1  contains  the  heading,  not  onlv 
to  chap.  i.  and  ii.,  but  to  the  whole  book,  of  which 
chap.  iii.  forms  an  integral  part.  On  the  special 
heading  in  chap.  iii.  ver.  1,  see  the  commentary  on 
the  verse.  The  prophet  calls  his  writing  a  massa, 
or  burden  (see  at  Nahum  i.  1),  because  it  an- 
nounce;^ heavy  judgments  u)ion  the  covenant  na- 
tion and  the  imperial  power."  —  C.  E.] 

First  Dialogue.  Vers.  2-11.  In  this  conversa- 
tion, as  in  the  concluding  passages  of  Micah,  the 
function  of  the  prophet  is  exhibited  on  two  sides. 
He  speaks,  first,  in  the  name  of  the  true  Israel,  as 
an  advocate  of  righteousness  (comp.  on  Micah 
vii.  1 )  ;  then  in  the  name  of  God.  Hence  the  dis- 
course takes  the  form  of  a  dialogue,  and  is  divided 
into  two  parts. 

I.  The  Complaint.  The  prophet  in  the  name 
of  righteousness  accuses  the  people  of  sin  (vers. 
2-4). 

II.  The  Answer.  Gud  points  to  tne  scourge,  by 
which  this  sin  is  to  b*>  punished  (vers.  5-1 ). 

Vers.  2-4.  The  Complaint.  Parallel  with  Mi 
cah  vii.,  the  prophet  begins  with  the  description  of 
the  wretched  condition  of  the  country,  which  ur- 
gently calls  for  judgment.  That  he  is  not  yet 
speaking  of  the  violent  deeds  of  the  CbaldeeanB 
(Rosenmiiller,  Ewald,  Maurer),  bnt  of  the  eoik- 


CHAPTER  I.  1-11. 


la 


ditioii  of  Judah  itself,  is  evident  from  the  analogy 
of  the  language  to  the  descriptions  of  other  proph- 
ets, as  well  as  from  the  fact  that  the  calamity  to  be 
inflicted  by  the  Chaldaeans  (ver.  5  ff.)  is  described 
as  a  future  one,  at  present  past  all  belief  (comp. 
ver.  13).  How  long,  properly  until  when,  Jeho- 
vah,—  thou  covenant  God,  who  hearest  those  that 
call  [upon  Thee]  and  art  angry  ^vith  the  wicked,  — 
do  I  cry,  and  thou  hearest  not ;  —  cry  to  thee, 
violence,  —  and  thou  helpest  not  P  Chdnids  is 
not  ace.  modi,  but  objecti :  a  customary  form  of 
expression  (comp.  Jer.  xx.  8,  and  Job  xix.  7).  We 
have  the  same  construction  in  our  [the  German] 
language.  The  tone  is  that  of  complaint,  common 
also  in  the  Psalms,  with  a  gentle  sound  of  reproach 
(Ps.  xxii.  2  ff.  ;  l.xxxviii.  15  ff,),  such  as  only  the 
ideal  congregation,  which  sees  in  actual  sin  an 
injury  done  to  its  vocation  [ihrer  Bestimmung,  tliat 
for  which  a  thing  is  designed  ^  C.  E.]  can  raise, 
but  not  the  individual  fellow-sinner  and  accom- 
plice in  guilt. 

Ver.  3.  Why  (thus  the  prophet  assigns  a  rea- 
son for  his  calling  and  crying)  dost  thou  let  me 
see  iniquity,  and  lookest  thou  upon  perverse- 
ness  inactively  ?  Sc,  since  at  least  thou,  as  the 
Holy  One,  will  not  look  upon  it  in  Israel,  and 
since,  accoi-ding  to  thy  Word  (Num.  xxiii.  21). 
thy  congregation  are  to  remain  free  from  it  ? 
bxsy  anJ  ps  convey  interchangeable  ideas  (comp. 

Hupf.  on  Ps.  vii.  1.5)  ;  and  the  neuter  vZ227,  which 
in  itself  may  signify  also  distress  (Baumlein,  Keil), 
receives   here   by  means  of  the   parallel  i^j.;  the 

meaning  of  mischief.  H.l^>  R.  ]'1M,  signifies  ( 1 ) 
nothingness,  vanity:  (2)  nothingness  of  words,  i.e., 
falsehood,  deceit ;  (3)    nothingness  as  to  worth,  ?<n- 

worthiness,  wickedness,  iniquity.  ^P^  from  ^P^, 
to  labor,  signifies,  (I)  labor,  toil;  (2)  fruit  of  labor  ; 
'3)  trouble,  vexation,  sorrow.  Gesenius,  Lex. —  C. 
E.l 

Oppression  and  violence  are  before  ray  eyes ; 
and  strife  arises,  and  contention  exalts  itself. 
Where  the  powers  are  unequal  there  is  oppression  : 
where  they  are  equal,  the  strife  of  hearts  and 
tongues  results  in  fighting  with  hands.  To  this 
description  of  the  leading  characteristics  of  a  social 
disorder  the  question,  "  Why  does  He  permit  it  to 
happen  ?  "  is  to  be  supplied  in  thought  from  a  [first 

clause  of  the  verse.  —  0.  E.].  S£&^_  is  intransitive, 
as  in  Nahum  i.  5 ;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  10. 

Ver.  4.  Therefore,  because  thou  dost  not  look 
into  and  restrain  it,  the  law,  "  which  was  intended 
to  be  the  soul  and  heart  of  the  common  political 
life"  (Delitzsch),  is  slack.  This  is  shown  partic- 
ularly (comp.  Micah  iii.  1  ff.)  in  the  chief  pillar  of 
the  public  life,  the  administration  of  justice  :  Yea 
a  righteous  sentence  never  comes  forth.     So  it 

should  be  translated,  if  we  understand  n*22  ac- 
cording to  the  customary  usage  of  the  language : 
n!JD  S7,  t.  e.,  not  to  perpetuity,  not  forever,  /.  e. 
never  (Is.  xiii.  20,  Delitzsch,  Keil).  But,  as  the  ad- 
junct ^PVT2),  in  the  following  part  of  the  verse 
«hows  L^-Ztt'D  means  also  here,  as  it  does  frequent- 
ly, not  materially  a  righteous  judgment,  but  for- 
mally  a  legal   sentence  in  general   (Hos.    x.  4). 

n!Jj7  must  consequently  be  uttered  with  em- 
phasis ;  and  the  clause,  "  the  sentence  goes  forth  " 
n^37  Sv,  should  form  an  antithesis  to  the 
clause,  "the  sentence  goes  forth  perverted  to  injus- 


tice." To  n23,  therefore,  the  signification  of 
truth,  justice,  is  required  to  be  given  (comp.  ni2Sb 
Is.  xlii.  3;  Jer.  v.  3).  And  this  signification  ig 
possible.  For  the  usual  meaning  perpetuity,  sta 
bility,  is  not  primitive,  but  has  its  inner  ground  in 
the  fact  that  internal  solidity  is  necessary  to  con- 
tinuance ;  and  this  is  undoubtedly  evident  from 
Prov.  xxi.  28,  though  one  may  grant  to  Delitzsch, 
that  the  signification,  forever  (better  to  perpetuitv), 
is  not  to  be  given  np  even  in  this  passage.  Tha 
connection  of  the  meanings,  and  the  transition  from 
the  concrete  to  the  abstract  are  the  same  as  in  l'7^!^, 
Compare  also  1  Sam.  xv.  29,  where  God,  as  Ha 
who  cannot  lie,  is  called  bsitc^  n!J3,  and  Lam. 
iii.  18.  Schultens  has  verified  this  ineaning  from 
the  Arabic,  Animadvv.,  p.  515.  Therefore  [read] 
The  sentence  [or  judgment]  does  not  go  forth  accord- 
ing to  truth,  so  that  it  may  have  stability.  Simi- 
larly, Hitzig,  Baumlein. 

For  the  wicked  man  (to  be  understood  collec- 
tively) surrounds  [in  a  hostile  sense —  C.  E.]  the 
righteous  man :  to  a  whole  circle  of  wicked  men 
there  is  but  one  righteous,  so  that  right  bows  un- 
der superior  power  (comp.  Micah  vii.  3)  :  there- 
fore judgment  goes  forth  perverted.  [Keil : 
Mishpat  is  not  merely  a  righteous  verdict,  how- 
ever; in  which  case  the  meaning  would  be  :  There 
is  no  more  any  righteous  verdict  given,  but  a 
righteous  state  of  things,  objective  right  in  the 
civil  and  political  life.  —  C.  E.J 

Vers.  5-11.  Jehovah's  Answer  [to  the  preceding 
complaint  —  C.  E].  The  scourge  is  already  pre- 
pared;  and   that  a  terrible  one.     Look  around 

among  the  nations  and  see.  3  "^^"J  does  not 
mean  here,  to  look  with  delight,  as  it  does  in  other 
places :  the  3,  moreover,  does  not  enter  simply 
into  construction  with  the  object,  but  it  is  local. 
Already  has  the  storm  burst  forth  among  the  na- 
tions, which  also  will  overtake  the  secure  sinners 
of  Israel.  And  be  astonished !  astonished ! 
The  emphasis  of  the  benumbing  astonishment  is 
expressed  by  the  verb  repeated  in  two  conjugations 
(comp.  Zeph.  ii.  1  ;  Ewald,  sec.  313  c).  The  reason 
for  both  the  summons  to  look  round  and  for  the 
stupefying  cousternaiion  following  it  is  indicated 
by  the  following  ''^ '  for  a  work  works,  is  car- 
ried into  efl^ect  (comp.  ^5rj  eVep^etTot,  2  Thess.  ii. 
7),  in  your  days  :  ye  would  not  believe  it,  if  it 
were  told  to  you,  it  so  far  exceeds  everything 
that  can  be  imagined  and  expected.  In  order  to 
transfer  the  emphasis  entirely  to  the  dreadful  word, 

the  speaker  keeps  back  the  author,  and  makes  7^3 
apparently  neuter :  the  impellent  force  is  in  the 
work  itself  (Ez.  i.  20).  [Keil :  The  participle  ^V'^ 
denotes  that  which  is  immediately  at  hand,  and  is 
used  absolutely,  without  a  pronoun.     According 

to  ver.  6,   "'pM  is  the  pronoun  we  have  to  supply 

For  it  is  not  practicable  to  supply  S^H,  or  to 
take  the  participle  in  the  sense  of  the  third  person 
since  God,  when  speaking  to  the  people,  cannot 
speak  of  himself  in  the  third  person,  and  even  in 

that  case  "^^"^^  could  not  be  omitted.  Hitag's 
idea  is  still  more  untenable,  namely,  that  po'al  ia 
the  subject,  and  that  po'el  is  used  in  an  intransi- 
tive sense  :  the  work  produces  its  effect.  We  must 
assume,  as  Delitzsch  does,  that  there  is  a  prolep- 
tical  ellipsis,  i.  e..  one  in  which  the  word  immedi 
ately  following  is  omitted  (as   in  Is.  xlviiL   11  ; 


14 


HABAKKUK. 


Zech.  Ix.  17).  The  admissibility  of  this  assump- 
tion is  justified  by  the  fact  that  there  are  other 
cases  in  which  the  participle  is  used  and  the  pro- 
noun omitted  ;  and  that  not  merely  the  pronoun 
of  the  third  person  (e.  g-,  Is.  ii.  11  ;  Jer.  xxxviii. 
23),  but  that  of  the  second  person  also  (1  Sam.  ii. 
24  ;  vi.  3  ;  and  Ps.  vii.  10).  —  C.  E.] 

Vei  6  first  mentions  the  doer :  For  behold, 
I,  the  Lord,  bring  up  [am  about  to  raise  up  — 
C.  E.J  the  Chaldseans.  [See  Lenormant  and 
Chevallier,  vol.  i.  p.  472  ;  also  Rawlinson's  An- 
cient  Monarchies,  vol.  i.  p.  58,  and  vol.  ii.  pp.  497, 

505.  —  C.  E.].  The  expression  DD  ^'^2,  and  still 
more  the  immediately  following  description  of  the 
enemies  themselves,  point  to  the  fact  that  they  had 
already  appeared  in  history.  But  that  they  are  to 
appear  in  the  history  of  Israel  and  come  to  execute 
'udgment  upon  Judah  for  his  sins,  is,  as  the  ex- 
pression   C^pri  with  the  part.)  shows,  still  in  the 

future.  And  indeed  the  rapidity  witli  which  Bab- 
vlon,  which  had  just  become  independent,  rose 
from  being  a  city  subject  to  Assyria  to  be  the 
ruler  of  Asia,  has  something  incredil)le.  The  na- 
tion, at  whose  head  Nebuchadnezzar  accomplished 
this  sudden  conquest,  and  whose  great  monarchy 
took  the  place  of  the  Assyrian,  is  called  in  the 
Old  Testament  Casdim ;  and  this  designation 
stands,  in  the  O.  T.,  in  the  same  reciprocal  rela- 
tion to  Babylon,  that  Israel  does  to  Jerusalem. 
The  name  Casdim,  which,  with  the  change  of 
the  second  radical,  has  been  preserved  to  this  day 
in  the  name  Kurds,  and  which  appears  in  the 
Classics  in  the  appellations  Chalybes  (//.,  ii.  856  ; 
comp.  Strabo,  xii.  545),  Chaldi  (Steph.  Byz.,  s.  v. 
XaASia)  or  Chaldaeans  (PtoleniiBus,  Strabo,  Plin- 
ius,  comp.  Winer  s.  v.  "  Chaldaer,"  Ewald,  Hist. 
Isr.,  i.  333),  Carduchi,  or  Gardyaei,  belongs,  ac- 
cording to  the  O.  T.  and  the  Classics  to  a  tribe 
spread  over  the  whole  country  between  the  Tigris 
and  Pontus.  Already  in  Jer.  v.  15  the  same  peo- 
ple are  designated  as  a  very  ancient  one  ;  and  as 
carlv  as  Gen.  xi.  28  the  country  of  Mesopotamia 
is  called  after  them  Ur  [Ur  of  the  Chaldees],  so 
that  it  is  more  than  doubtful  whether  Chesed 
(Gen.  xxii.  22),  the  nephew  of  Abraham,  is  to 
be  considered  their  ancestor.  If  the  conjecture  of 
Ewald,  Knobel,  Dietrich,  is  correct  that  a  reference 

to  the  name  ^^?2  already  exists  in  Arphaxad 
[^t£'DD'^S]  Gen.  x  22),  then  this  circumstance 
would  doubtless  refer  the  name  to  a  time  beyond 
that  of  Abraham.  Oppert  (Deutsch.-morqenl. 
Zfiitschr.,  German-Oriental  Journal,  xi.  137)  has 
])roved,  that  the  word  Casdim  is  Tataric,  and 
signifies,  as  well  a.s  Mesopotamia,  two  rivers ;  and 
(the  correctness  of  the  translation  being  presup- 
])osed)  it  is  legitimately  inferred  from  this  fact 
that  the  name  probably  designates  the  aboriginal 
Tataric  population  between  the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris.  (It  harmonizes  well  with  this  etymology, 
according  to  which  Casdim  is  plural  only  in  sound 
btit  not  in  original  signification,  that  tlic  name 
appears  in  the  O.  T.  only  as  plur.  tantum  ;  that 
Casdim  as  an  actual  plural  form  would  be  abnor- 
mally formed ;  that  the  regular  plural  form  C'^^'^'^Ci'^ 

occurs  only  once  in  later  Hebrew  (Ez.  xxiii.  14, 
Cthibh),    and   the    reconstructed    singular    form 

^^t^"'!3  only  in  the  Aramaic  of  Daniel.  [The  opin- 
'on]  that  the  aboriginal  population  of  that  district 
•vas,  in  faet,  not  of  a  Semitic,  but  of  a  Tataric 
itock,  app«,'ars,  at  present,  to   be  subjected   no  lon- 


ger to  any  opposition.  (Comp.  Brandis,  art.  "As- 
syria "  in  Pauly's  RealencyklopO.die. )  [On  the  early 
history  of  the  Chaldajuns  and  their  Turanian 
origin,  see  Ilawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  i.  pp.  247, 
248,  245,  533.  —  C.  E.]  Certainly  opposed  to  this 
view  is  the  assumption  of  the  great  majority  of 
exegetes  that  the  primitive  abode  of  the  Casdim 
was  the  Armenian  mountain  land,  where,  accord- 
ing to  Xeuophon,  a  brave  and  freedom  loving  peo- 
ple of  the  Chaldaean  stock  dwelt,  and  where  the 
Kurds  still  live,  and  that  the  Assyrians  first  settled 
them  in  the  plain  of  Babylon,  according  to  Hitzig 
in  the  year  tj25.  This  assumption,  however,  has, 
on  closer  examinatioUi  no  broader  foundation  than 
a  false,  at  the  least  a  questionable  interpretation  of 
the  obscure  passage.  Is.  xxiii.  13  :  it  is  for  that 
reason  to  be  set  aside.  The  present  passage  is  the 
locus  classicus  for  the  characteristics  of  this  war- 
like people,  just  as  Is.  v.  26  AT.  is  for  the  character- 
istics of  the  As.syrians.  They  are  called  the  peo- 
ple,  the   bitter,  i.  e.,  ferocious    (comp.   Amarus, 

Cic.  Att.,  14,  21,  and  C?53  ID,  Judges  xviii.  25) 
and  the  impetuous,  properly  hurrying  on  (Is. 
xxxii.  4),  rushing  on  precipitately  —  the  conform- 
ity of  sound  of  the  two  adjectives  has  something 
terribly  graphic  —  which    marches  along  [Keil  : 

7  is  not  used  here  to  denote  the  direction,  or  the 
goal,  but  the  space,  as  in  Gen.  xiii.  17  (Hitzig, 
Delitzsch)  —  C.  E.]  the  breadths  of  the  earth, 
which  passes  through  the  land  in  its  whole  extent 
(Judges  viii.  8  ;  Rev.  xx.  9)  :  to  take  possession 
of  dweUing  places  that  are  not  its  own  (comp. 
ii.  6). 

Ver.  7.  Carries  out  the  idea  of  the  "bitter;" 
and  ver.  8,  that  of  the  "  impetuous,"  in  ver.  6.  It 
is  terrible  and  fearful ;  from  it  —  not  from  God 
(Ps.  xvii.  1)  — proceed  its  right  and  eminence  : 
in  sovereign  vainglory  it  revived  the  old  character 
of  Babylon  (Gen.  xi.  4 ;  comp.  Is.  xiv.  13),  put  its 
own  statutes  in  the  place  of  the  jura  divina,  and 
consequently  entered  despotically  into  the  place 
of  the  world-power,  which  is  at  strife  with  God. 
nSti?  an  eminence,  which  rests  upon  inflated 
pride  (SJi^D,  Hos.  xiii.  1),  in  contrast  with  the 
"n22  which  is  bestowed  by  God.  [Rawlinson's 
Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  iii.  pp.  10,  11.  —  C.  E.] 

Ver.  8.  And  fleeter  than  leopards,  whose 
swiftness  in  catching  the  prey  is  proverbial,  are 
its  horses  (Jeremiah  employs  in  the  same  com- 
parison the  figure  of  the  eagle,  iv.  13)  ;  yea  they 
are  swifter  than  evening  wolves  (Zeph.  iii.  3; 
comp.  Ps.  lix.  7,  15).  The  battle  is  to  them,  what 
the  seizing  of  the  prey  is  to  a  ravenous  beast,  —  a 
savage  delight,  to  which  they  hasten  with  im- 
patience (Job  xxxix.  20  f.).  And  its  horsemen 
rush  along  (there  is  here  also  a  graphic  conform- 
itv  of  sound  in  the  words)  ;  yea  its  horsemen 
come  from  afar,  they  fly  like  the  eagle,  which 
hastens  to  devour.  [Rawlinson's  Ancient  Mon- 
archies, yo].  in.  pp.  10,  11.  —  C.  E.]  They  come 
to  fulfill  the  curse  (Deut.  xxviii.  49),  to  the  words 
of  which  the  prophet  alludes. 

This  thought  is  further  carried  out  in  ver.  9. 
All  its  multitude  —  the  suffix  71,  contracted  from 
^nT,  is  archaic,  as  in  Gen.  xlix.  11  — comes  foi 
deeds  of  violence,  foi  the  object  is  to  inflict  judg 
ment  for  violence  (ver.  2).  The  eagerness  (in 
this  sense  the  ott.  \ey.  HTSIlTS,  occurs  in  the  Ral> 
bins,  Kimchi  on  Ps.  xxvii.  8)  of  their  faces  urgea 
forward.     rT1^^7;?.  also  in    Kz    xi.   1  ;   nIv.  7,  foi 


CHAPTER   I.  1-11. 


15 


n^"Tp  (Gen.  xxv.  6).  And  it  gathers  prison- 
ers togetha:  like  dust  (comp.  Gen.  xli.  49  ;  Hos. 
ii.  9). 

Ver.  10.  Forms  a  fit  sequel  to  the  description  of 
the  autocratic  power  in  ver.  7  :  and  it  scoffs  at 
kings,  and  princes  are  a  derision  to  it,  for,  10  b, 
11  a,  it  has  the  power  to  overcome  every  resist- 
ance :  it  laughs  at  every  stronghold,  and  heaps 
up  dust  and  takes  it. 

Ver.  11.  Then  it  turns  a  tempest  [Ges. :  then 
his  spirit  revives  —  C.  E.]  and  passes  on.  To 
mark  the  little  anxiety,  which  the  haughty  enemy 
bestows    upon   the    capture,   the    approaches    are 

called  "1237,  heaped  up  dust,  instead  of  the  usual 

TT^iO    (2  Sam.  x.    15,    and  above).     The   fem. 

suff.  in  msb^,  receives  fi-om  the  mas.   ")!Jm3, 

fortress,  the  idea  of  a  city  [")^37,  which  is  fem.  — 

C  E.]  F|7n  nowhere  means  revirescit,  not  even 
in  Ps.  xc.  5,  but  it  signifies  a  speedy  gliding  away, 
turning  away  (Job  ix.  11  ;  Ps.  cii.  27),  and  unites, 

without  violence,   with  "1327  in  expressing  one 

idea.  [See  note  8  on  ver.  11  —  C.  E.]  n-T1  i* 
placed  between  as  an  appositional  comparison 
(comp.  Is.  xxi.  8  :  and  he  cried,  a  lion,  i.  e.,  with 
a  lion's  voice)  ;  there  lies,  indeed,  in  this  apposi- 
tion the  threefold  relative  comparison  of  the  re- 
volving whirlwind,  of  rushing  speed,  and  of  demol- 
ishing power.  A  moi'e  descriptive  expression  of 
the  astonishment  at  the  invincible  power  of  the 
Babylonian,  who,  immediately  after  the  overthrow 
of  Nineveh,  marched  against  Necho,  cannot  be 
imagined.  With  a  lofty  elevation  the  prophet, 
11  b,  sets  at  naught  this  surging  flood,  and  an- 
nounces against  the  irresistible  autocratic  inso- 
lence of  the  enemy  the  unalterable  decree  of  the 
Divine  government  [Governor]  of  the  world, 
which,  as  in  Micah  and  Nahum,  concludes  the 
description  [of  this  haughty  enemy  —  C.  E.]  with 
crushing  effect :  But  he  is  guilty,  and  conse- 
quently incurs  the  Divine  penalty,  whose  power 
is  his  God.     That  the   accentuation  incorrectly 

connects  the  verb  DiL'S  with  the  first  half  of  the 
verse,  which,  according  to  the  sense,  should  be  in- 
cluded in  one  verse  with  10  b,  is  plain;  for  the 

immediate  coordination  of  the  verbs  "11327^  and 

CtTM,  though  retained  by  the  exegetes,  is  certainly 

excluded   by   the  dissimilar  conjunctions    (D)  ?)•• 

L^n^?!*!!.  has   vav   conversive  of  the  future ;    and 

Cti^S")  has  vao  conversive  of  the  preterite —  C.  E.] 
[Other  translations :  LXX. :  Kal  SieKeva-erui  kuI 
eiiXdaerai  avTi\  rt  Iffx^s  t&J  Bew  fxov.  Vulg.  :  "  Et 
pertransibit  et  corrwt ;  licec  est  fortitudo  ejus  dei 
sui."  Drusius :  "  Et  (ransgredietur  et  delinquet, 
hanc  vim  suam  Deo  sua  (tribuens)."  J.  H.  Mich- 
aelis  :  "  Et  ream  se  faciet  [dicens):  hanc  potentiam 
siiam  deberi  Deo  sua;"  or:  "  Et  tuni  luet  {impius 
Judceus),  cujus  vis  sua  fuit  pro  Deo  suo."  Hitzig, 
Maurer :  "  And  he  loads  himself  with  guilt ;  he, 
whose  power  becomes  his  god."  Gesenius,  Ewald, 
Delitzsch,  Keil :  "  He  passes  on  farther  and  of- 
fends ;  this  his  power  becomes  (is)  his  god." 
Baumlein  :  "  Since  his  power  becomes  his  god]." 

"?  stand;?  in  the  predicate  of  the  object  [Pradicat 
4er  Abzielung,  the  predicate  denoting  the  purpose, 
jbject,  or  ^.'ra  —  C.  E.]  as  in  Nah.  i.  7  ;  Ex.  vi.  7  ; 


^?  rel.  as  in  Is.  xlii.  24  and  other  places.  As  ap- 
pertaining to  the  thought,  which,  with  special  re- 
gard to  ver.  7,  briefly  comprises  the  moral  charac- 
ter of  the  conqueror  with  its  immanent  [inherent] 
destiny  and  makes  both  the  basis  of  the  following 
dialogue,  comp.  chap.  ii.  6-10 ;  Job  xii.  6 ;  Is.  x. 
13. 


DOCTRINAL  AND   ETHICAL. 

The  inspiration  of  the  prophets  is  rooted  in  the 
sacred  soil  of  the  heart,  and  presupposes  the  con- 
test of  faith  and  prayer  with  God,  in  which  the 
struggling  and  praying  soul  experiences  God's 
answer  and  blessing :  a  contest  of  faith  and  prayer 
like  that  of  the  patriarch,  which  stands  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  entire  history  of  the  holy  people, 
who  had  the  Spirit  of  God  (Gen.  xxxii.  24  ff. ; 
comp.  Hos.  xii.  .5  f. ;  Is.  Ixiii.  11).  By  this  i-oot  of 
sanctification  prophecy,  among  the  people  of  Is- 
rael, is  distinguished  from  all  heathen  divination, 
and  not  by  the  gift  of  the  vision  of  future  things. 
"  Prophecy,  as  it  speaks  of  future  things,  is  almost 
one  of  the  least  important  gifts,  and  comes  some- 
times even  from  the  Devil."  Luther  on  Rom.  xii. 
7  (comp.  Ex.  7).  It  has  in  the  0.  T.  its  peculiar 
significance,  which  is  to  be  understood  fi-om  the 
light  of  the  history  of  the  kingdom ;  but  separated 
from  the  heart  of  God  it  would  be  nothing.  Comp. 
1  Pet.  i.  11  ;  2  Pet.  i.  21. 

The  heathen  powers  shoot  up  into  ascendency, 
when  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  truth  is  impeded 
by  pride,  injustice,  and  a  spirit  of  contention.  On 
these  they  live  like  fungi,  and  God  permits  them 
to  spring  up,  in  order  to  begin  the  judgment  upon 
his  house.  The  more  certainly  that  individuals, 
following  their  own  view  of  what  is  good  and  right, 
pursue  the  war  of  the  flesh  instead  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  peace,  the  more  certainly  is  the  scourge  al- 
ready in  preparation.  What  the  prophet  says  of 
one  event  is  put  down  in  writing,  because  it  is  ut- 
tered for  all  time  (Acts  xiii.  41).  The  prudent 
man  sees  the  evil  and  hides  himself;  but  the  silly 
man  passes  on  and  is  punished.  But  even  the 
most  prudent  man  does  not  foresee  it  by  his  own 
prudence.  God's  decisive  acts,  as  well  those  which 
He  does  as  those  which  He  permits,  are  altogether 
Niphlaoth,  wonderful  deeds,  and  have  ever  on  one 
.side  something  incredible  in  them.  That  they 
will  come,  he  who  has  learned  to  examine  the 
signs  of  the  times  in  the  light  of  God's  Word,  an- 
ticipates :  how  they  are  to  be,  God  reserves  to  his 
own  power.  Enough,  that  we  know  that  it  is  His 
power.  To  him,  who  knows  this,  there  is  no 
strange  work  in  the  world.^ 

1  Compare  the  letter  of  the  French  theosophist,  St.  Mar- 
tin, concerning  the  Kevolution,  iu  Varnhagen,  Memoirs,  iv 
534  ff. :  "I  remind  you  of  wliat  I  have  written  in  the  begin- 
ning of  this  letter,  that  the  political  commotions,  in  tha 
storms  of  which  we  live,  appear  to  me  to  be  in  the  eye  ol 
God  only  the  ways  by  which  He  is  preparing  us,  as  we 
think,  for  greater  happiness.  For  the  astonishing  course 
of  development  of  our  grand  revolution  and  the  brilliant 
phenomena  which  mark  it  at  every  step,  must  show  f'- 
every  one,  not  devoid  of  understanding,  or  honest}',  in  it« 
march  of  fire,  the  accomplishment  of  an  e.xpress  decree  oi 
Providence.  We  can  even  say  that  the  work,  on  its  part  is 
already  done,  though  not  yet  entirely  on  ours.  Its  hand, 
like  tliat  of  a  skillful  surgeon,  has  removed  the  extraneoue 
matter,  and  we  feel  all  the  inevitable  effects  of  a  painful 
operation  and  the  pressure  of  the  bandage  of  the  wounds 
but  we  must  bear  these  pains  with  patience  and  courage 
since  there  is  none  of  them  which  does  aot  conduce  to  on 


Lt) 


HABAKKUK. 


For  ho\veA"er  high  the  scourge  may  be  raised, 
the  destroyer  [Zerbmclier,  dasher  in  pieces]  is  also 
a|)pointed  to  it,  as  soon  as  he  intends  that  it  shall 
l)L'  more  than  a  scourge,  that  chastisement  shall  be 
converted  into  tk'struction,  the  work  of  God  into 
his  own  work.  All  [assumption  of]  independence 
is  apostasy  from  God,  consequently  separation 
from  the  source  of  life.  The  [assumption  of]  in- 
depenileiice  on  the  part  of  Adam  ended  in  curse 
and  misery.  The  same  thing  on  the  part  of  an- 
cient Babel  ended  in  destruction,  dispersion,  and 
confusion.  And  so  it  falls  out  with  the  new  de- 
stroyer, the  destiny  of  his  own  guilt  overwhelms 
him,  because  his  power  is  his  god.  And  in  his 
time  he  who  has  crushed  will  himself  be  crushed. 
Kings  and  princes  and  strong  cities  are  an  object 
of  derision  to  him  :  he  is  the  same  before  God. 
Only  he  who  continues  in  a  state  of  grace,  receives 
from  God  in  perpetuity  what  was  not  his :  thus 
Israel  received  Canaan.  If  he  renounce  the  grace, 
he  must  also  surrender  the  gift.  If  this  applies  to 
Israel  (Micah  ii.  10)  how  much  more  to  the  obsti- 
nate alien. 

HOMILETICAL. 

How  utterly  incomprehensible  are  the  judgments  of 
God: 

1.  Incomprehensible  in  their  delay,  to  the  view 
Df  those  who  have  no  patience,  and  think  that  God 
aught  to  act  as  speedily  as  their  anger  prompts 
them   (vers.  2-3). 

2.  Incomprehensible  in  their  threatening  to 
those  upon  whom  they  will  fall,  and  who  never- 
theless continue  to  sin  in  security  (ver.  4). 

.3.  Incomprehensible  to  every  human  mind  in 
their  realization.     For  — 

(a.)  They  are  greater  than  any  human  thought 
would  anticipate  (ver.  5). 

(h.)  They  take  place  in  ways  and  by  means  of 
which  no  man  would  dream  (ver.  6). 

(c.)  They  are  often  brought  about  by  men  and 
events  that,  at  first  sight,  have  nothing  in  common 
with  God. 

4.  Incomprehensible  in  their  grandeur  and  uni- 
versality to  those  by  whom  thev  are  accomplished 
(ver.  11), 

On  vei.  2  God  always  hears,  although  we  do 
not  have  an  immediate  sense  of  it.  Therefore  con- 
tinue in  prayer.  It  is  also  not  always  good  to 
pray  to  Him  to  hasten  his  help.  The  future  help, 
which  He  has  prepared,  is  perhaps,  for  the  mo- 
ment, heavier  to  bear  than  the  present  burden,  un- 
ler  which  thou  highest.  —  Ver.  3.  He  must  cer- 
ainly  have  his  reasons,  when  He  permits  his  saints 
to  see  misery  and  impious  conduct.  It  touches  his 
heart  moi"e  than  it  docs  theirs.  He  suffers  things 
•o  come  to  a  crisis  and  the  wicked  thoughts  of 
hearts  to  be  revealed  before  He  approaches  [to 
judgment].  —  Ver.  5.  However  long  we  have 
searched  after  the  way  of  God,  when  He  is  sud- 
denly revealed  in  his  might  and  power,  then  the 
light  is  so  dazzling  that  it  is  painful  to  us,  and  we 
are  displeased  that  God  has  performed  such  power- 
ful deeds  in  our  days,  and  that  we  have  not  rather 

peuovery."  See  page  453 :  "  When  I  consider  the  French 
Revolution  from  its  origin  onward,  and  at  tlie  moment  when 
U  broke  out,  I  find  nothing  better  to  compare  it  to  than  to  a 
picture  on  a  reduced  scale,  of  the  last  judgment,  where  the 
trumpets  Round  abroad  the  fearful  notes,  which  a  higher 
Toice  gives  to  them,  where  all  the  powers  of  heaven  and 
larth  are  shaken  ;  and  where  in  one  and  the  same  moment 
tM  righteous  and  the  wicke<l  receive  their  reward." 


come  to  our  rest  in  peace.  —  Vt- .  5.  God  haa 
great  power  to  destroy.  Neither  title-deed  noi 
hereditary  right  protects  against  his  power.  He 
takes  from  whom  He  will  and  gives  to  whom  He 
will.  But  He  has  still  greater  power  and  pleasure 
in  building.  The  destruction  is  for  a  moment,  the 
building  for  eternity.  And  in  his  destroying  build- 
ing is  always  included.  With  the  stubble  ploughed 
under,  the  field  is  manured  for  a  new  harvest ;  and 
the  plough  does  not  reap,  but  the  ploughman.  — 
Ver.  7.  Ye  who  despise  the  right,  when  you  can 
have  it,  need  not  wonder  when  you  are  treated  as 
if  there  were  no  right,  and  when  you  shall  be  dealt 
with  according  to  your  own  principle  :  stat  pro 
ratione  voluntas.  —  Ver.  10.  When  the  judgments 
of  God  come,  how  quicklj"  does  everything  on 
which  men  formerly  phvced  their  confidence  and 
hope,  fall  to  ruin  !  riicn  the  earth,  which  was 
just  now  joyful,  quakes. —  Ver.  11.  When  God 
permits  you  to  succeed  in  everything  that  comes  to 
hand,  it  is  no  reason  for  ])ride,  but  for  humiliation. 
All  success  cleaves  to  him  who  is  proud,  not  as  a 
merit,  but  as  guilt,  and  God  will  require  [the  pun- 
ishment of]  the  guilt. 

Luther  :  On  ver.  2.  As  if  he  would  say,  I 
preach  much,  and  it  is  of  no  avail ;  my  word  is 
despised  ;  no  one  becomes  better ;  they  only  be- 
come continually  worse.  Therefore  I  know  not 
where  to  bring  my  complaint  except  to  Thee  ;  but 
Thou  seemest  as  if  Thuu  hearest  me  not,  and  dost 
not  see  them.  But  the  prophet  does  not  expostu- 
late with  God,  as  his  words  would  sound  and  inti- 
mate to  the  ear  ;  but  he  speaks  thus  in  order  that 
he  may  alarm  the  people  and  bring  them  to  re- 
pentance, and  show  them  how  deservedly  the  wrath 
and  burden  will  come  upon  them,  because  they 
turn  not  at  preaching,  threatening,  and  exhorta- 
tion, nor  even  at  prayer,  directed  against  them.  — 
Ver.  3.  This  is  written  for  our  consolation  and 
admonition  that  we  should  not  wonder  nor  think 
it  strange  if  few  improve  by  our  teaching.  For 
generally  preachers,  especially  if  they  have  just 
newly  come  from  the  forge  [seminary],  indulge  ex- 
travagant expectations  [meinen  sie,  das  solle  sobald 
Hande  und  Ftlsse  haben,  undjlugs  alles  geschehen  und 
gedndert  werden,  they  think  that  everything  should 
instantly  have  hands  and  feet,  and  that  it  should 
be  immediately  done  aiid  changed].  But  that  is  a 
great  mistake.  Habakkuk  rebukes  the  Jews,  not 
on  account  of  idolatry  and  other  sins,  but  only  on 
account  of  sins  which  were  committed  against 
their  neighbors ;  there  must,  therefore,  have  been 
still  at  that  time  pious  people,  who  maintained  di- 
\  iiic  worship  in  its  purity  ;  but  they  were  possessed 
with  avarice  and  addicted  to  the  practice  of  injus- 
tice and  usury.  So  then  no  service,  be  it  what  it 
may,  is  pleasing  to  God,  in  which  one  does  wrong 
to  his  neighbor.  —  Ver.  4.  There  are  much  worse 
villains  than  public  thieves  and  rogues.  For  the 
latter  act  openly  against  the  law,  so  that  theii 
wrong  doing  is  palpable  to  and  felt  by  every  one  ; 
but  the  former  pretend  to  be  pious,  and  would  have 
wrong  considered  right.  There  are  therefore  two 
kinds  of  villains  :  first,  those  who  do  wrong  ;  sec- 
ondly, those  who  set  off  and  defend  the  same  wrong 
under  the  name  of  right.  —  Ver.  5.  All  this  is  said 
also  for  us,  who  have  the  name  and  semblance  of 
Christians,  who  boast  of  our  baptism,  or  of  our 
spiritual  profession  and  office,  as  giving  us  the  ad- 
vantage over  heathen  and  Jews,  and  yet  we  arc, 
like  them,  without  faith  and  the  spirit :  so  that  we 
also  must  certainly  perish  at  last  by  those  whom 
we  now  despise  and  consider  worse  than  ourselvci 
just  as  it  happened  to  the  Jews  by  the  Chaldajdu* 


CHAPTERS  I.  12-11.  20. 


17 


—  V  )r.  6.  It  will  be  to  you  also  of  no  avail  that 
Jeruialera  is  the  city  and  dwelling;  of  God,  to  which 
you  now  trust :  it  is  in  vain,  the  Babylonian  people 
will  take  possession  of  it  altogether,  though  it  is 
not  their  own. — Ver.  11.  No  human  heart  can 
'efrain  from  pride  and  boasting,  when  it  has  suc- 
cess and  good  fortune.  The  Scriptures  do  not 
Rhine  teach  this;  but  also  the  heathen  testify  and 
acknowledge  it  from  experience,  as  Virgil  says  : 
'lescia  mens  hominuin  servare  modum  rebus  suhlatn 
^ecundis.  It  is  a  common  saying  :  a  man  can  bear 
all  things  except  prosperity. 

Starke  :  Ver.  2.  Human  weakness  is  the  rea- 
son why  we  cannot  reconcile  ourselves  to  the  won- 
derful government  of  God,  and  why  we  think  that 
all  evil  might  be  easily  remedied.  Cut  in  this  we 
forget  that  it  is  not  according  to  wisdom  to  treat 
men,  whom  He  has  endowed  with  freedom  of  the 
will,  with  absolute  omnipotence  and  as  if  they 
were  machines.  —  Ver.  3.  The  ungodly  exert 
themselves  to  the  utmost  in  sinning.  —  Ver.  4. 
Kven  lawsnits  are  not  unknown  to  God  :  He  keeps 
also  his  record  of  them.  —  Ver.  5.  God  himself 
brings  the  enemy  into  the  land,  and  punishes 
thereby  all  injustice.  —  Ver.  6.  Those  who  sin  in 
haste  and  are  unwilling  to  be  restrained  are  sud- 
denly punished  by  God,  and  do  not  escape.  —  Ver. 
8.  God  punishes  the  avarice  of  his  people,  who 
accumulate  riches  by  injustice,  in  turn  by  the  av- 
•irice  of  the  soldiers,  who  plunder  the  unjustly  ac- 
quired wealth  and  appropriate  it  to  themselves. 
God  can  employ  even  the  beasts,  which  at  other 
times  are  compelled  to  render  great  service  to 
men,  for  their  punishment.  —  Ver.  10.  Those  who 
despise  and  laugh  at  pious  teachers  and  their  ad- 
monitions, justly  deserve  in  their  turn  to  be  de- 
spised and  laughed  at. 

Pfaff  :  Ver.  2  fF.  Servants  of  God  and  preach- 
ers of  the  Gospel  have  reason  to  sigh  over  the  pros- 
tration of  foith  in  every  quarter.  Who  can  re- 
proach them  for  thus  sighing  ?  But  woe  to  you 
ungodly,  who  extort  such  sighs  from  them  'i  — 


Ver.  5.  Whence  come  wa:  bloodshed,  and  devas- 
tation ?  They  come  hence :  justice  is  depressed 
and  the  law  of  God  is  violated. 

RiEGER  :  On  2  IF.  O  God,  into  what  times  hast 
thou  brought  us  1  What  must  we  see  and  experi- 
ence ?  Where  is  the  answer  of  all  the  prayer  that 
has  already  for  a  long  time  been  offered  up  for  Di- 
vine help'.'  These  are  also  footsteps  of  faith  in 
which  we  are  often  forced  to  tread. 

ScHMiEDER  :  Ver.  4.  The  law  becomes  frigid, 
which,  however,  in  its  nature  is  fire  and  flame,  and 
\'.'hirh,  in  the  judgment,  consumes  sin.  But  where 
the  judge  is  good  for  nothing,  the  law  is  frigid  and 
lifeless. 

BuRCK  :  Ver.  5.  Ye  believe  it  not,  if  ye  muxely 
hear  it,  if  ye  are  not  fui'nished  with  conviction  by 
sight.  Much,  if  it  is  merely  heard,  does  not  work 
in  the  mind  of  man  faith  so  much  as  doubt.  It  is 
a  miracle  worthy  of  God  that  men  by  the  hearing 
of  the  Gosjtel  attain  to  faith. 

ScHLiER :  Habakkuk  understands  very  well 
what  kind  of  a  corrective  such  a  people,  insolent 
and  eager  for  conquest,  are ;  and,  when  all  means 
are  in  vain,  only  such  n,  fearful  judgment  by 
means  of  a  foreign  people  can  rouse  once  more  a 
fallen  nation.  The  Lord  needs  only  to  point  him 
to  the  Chaldseans ;  thu  6  he  knows  that  this  nation 
is  the  means  in  the  hind  of  the  Lord  of  setting 
bounds  to  the  state  of  general  distress. 

Talm.  :  Ver.  7.  Four  men  deified  themselves 
and  thereby  brought  evil  upon  themselves  :  Pha- 
raoh, Hiram,  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  Joash :  the 
punishment  of  Nebuchadnezzar  was  divestiture  of 
humanity. 

BuRCK  :  Ver.  9.  Those  who  commit  deeds  of 
violence  on  one  another  (vers.  2,  3)  deserve  to  ex- 
perience them  from  others 

Augustine  :  Ver.  1 1  What  art  thou,  O  man, 
who  pufifest  thyself  up  ?  Be  contented  to  be  filled. 
He  who  is  filled  is  rich ;  he  who  puffs  himself  up 
is  empty. 


CHAPTERS  1.  12-11.  20. 


r  The  Prophet  expostulates  with  God  on  Account  of  the  Judgment,  which  threatens  the 
Annihilation  of  the  Jewish  People  (chap.  i.  vers.  12-17).  The  waiting  Posture 
of  the  Prophet  (chap.  ii.  ver.  1).  The  Command  to  commit  to  Writing  the  Per- 
elation  which  was  about  to  be  made  to  Him  (ver.  2).  Assurance  that  theProphecy, 
though  not  fulfilled  immediately,  ivill  certainly  be  accomplished  (ver.  3).  The 
proud  and  unbelieving  loill  abuse  it  ;  but  the  believing  will  be  blessed  by  it.  The 
Prophet  then  depicts  the  Sins  of  the  Chaldceans,  and  shows  that  both  general  Jus- 
tice and  the  special  Agencies  of  God's  Providence  will  surely  overtake  them  with 
fearful  Retribution.  —  C.  E.] 

12  Art  thou  not  from  eternity, 

Jehovah,  my  God,  my  Holy  One? 

We  shall  not  die. 

Jehovah !  for  judgment  thou  hast  appointed  it ; 

And  0  Rock !  Thou  hast  founded  it  for  chastisemenu 


13  Thou  art  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil ; 
Thou  canst  not  look  upon  injustice. 
Why  lookcst  thou  upon  the  treacherc  js  ? 


18  HABAKKUK. 


Why  art  thou  silent  when  the  wicked  destroys 
Him  that  is  more  righteous  than  he  ? 

14  And  thou  makest  men  like  fishes  of  the  sea. 
Like  reptiles  that  have  no  ruler. 

15  All  ^  of  them  it  lifts  up  with  the  hook ; 
It  gathers  them  into  its  net, 

And  collects  them  into  its  fish-net ; 
Therefore  it  rejoices  and  is  glad. 

16  Therefore  it  sacrifices  to  its  net, 
And  burns  incense  to  its  fish-net ; 
Because  by  them  its  portion  is  rich, 
And  its  food  fat. 

17  Shall  he,  therefore,  empty  his  net, 

And  spare  not  to  slay  the  nations  continually  ? 

Chapteb  II.     1   I  will  stand  upon  my  watch^-post, 

And  station  myself  upon  the  fortress  ; 

And  I  will  wait  ^  to  see  what  He  will  say  to  [in]  mo^ 

And  what  I  shall  answer  to  my  complaint.* 

2  And  Jehovah  answered  me  and  said  : 
Write  the  vision  ^  and  grave "  it  on  tablets, 
That  he  may  run,  who  reads  it. 

8  For  still  the  vision  is  for  the  appointed  time ;' 
And  it  hastens  to  the  end  [fulfillment], 
And  does  not  deceive  ; 
Though  it  delay,  wait  for  it ; 
For  it  will  surely  come,  and  will  not  fail* 

4  Behold  the  proud  : 

His  soul  is  not  right  within  him ; 
But  the  just  by  his  faith  shall  live. 

5  And  moreover,  wine  is  treacherous  : 
A  haughty  man,  he  rests  not : 

He  who  opens  wide  his  soul  like  Sheol, 
And  is  like  death,  and  is  not  satisfied. 
And  gathers  all  nations  to  himself. 
And  collects  all  peoples  to  himself: 

6  Will  not  all  these  take  up  a  song  ^  against  him  ? 
And  a  song  of  derision,^  a  riddle  ^^  upon  him ; 
And  they  will  say  : 

Woe  to  him  who  increases  what  is  not  his  own ! 

How  long  ? 

And  who  loads  himself  with  pledges." 

7  Will  not  thy  biters  ^^  rise  up  suddenly, 

And  those  awake  that  shall  shake  thee  violently? 
And  thou  wilt  become  a  prey  to  them. 

8  Because  thou  hast  plundered  many  nations. 

All  the  remainder  of  the  peoples  shall  plunder  thee ; 

Because  of  the  blood  of  men  and  the  violence  done  to  the  earth  j 

To  the  city  and  all  that  dwell  in  it. 


CH.:iPTEKS   I.   12-11.   20.  19 


9  Woe  to  him,  that  procureth  wicked  gain  for  his  house  1 
To  set  his  nest  on  high, 
To  preserve  himself  from  the  hand  of  calamity. 

10  Thou  hast  devised  shame  for  thy  house ; 
Cutting  off  many  peoples,  and  sinning  against  thyselll 

11  For  the  stone  cries  out  from  the  wall, 
And  the  spar  out  of  the  wood-work  answers  it. 

12  Woe  to  him,  who  builds  a  city  with  blood, 
And  founds  a  town  in  wickedness. 

13  Behold,  is  it  not  from  Jehovah  of  hosts. 
That  the  peoples  toil  for  the  fire, 
And  the  nations  weary  themselves  for  vanity  ? 

14  For  the  earth  shall  be  filled 
With  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  Jehovah, 
As  the  waters  cover  the  sea. 

15  Woe  to  him  that  gives  his  neighbor  to  drink, 
Pouring  out  thy  wrath,^^  and  also  making  drunk. 
In  order  to  look  upon  their  nakedness. 

16  Thou  art  sated  with  shame  instead  of  glory  ; 
Drink  thou  also,  and  show  thyself  uncircumcised : 
The  cup  of  Jehovah's  right  hand  shaU  come  round  to  thee^ 
And  ignominy  "  shall  be  upon  thy  glory. 

17  For  the  violence  done  to  Lebanon  shall  cover  thee, 
And  the  destruction  of  wild  beasts  which  terrifies  "  them ; 
Because  of  the  blood  of  men,  and  the  violence  done  to  the  eardiy 
To  the  city  and  all  that  dwell  in  it. 

18  What  profits  the  graven  image,  that  its  maker  has  carved  it  ? 
The  molten  image  and  the  teacher  of  falsehood, 
That  the  maker  of  his  image  trusts  in  him  to  make  dumb  ^  idols  ? 

19  Woe  to  him  that  says  to  the  wood,  awake ! 
To  the  dumb  stone,  arise ! 

It  teach !  Behold  it  is  overlaid  with  gold  and  silver  ; 
And  there  is  no  breath  in  its  inside. 

20  But  Jehovah  is  in  his  holy  temple. 
Let  all  the  earth  be  silent  before  Him. 

TEXTUAL  AND  QRAMMATIOAL. 

p  T«r.  Ifi.  — rivS  points  ba«k  to  the  ooUertive  r3*TS,  Ter.  14.    Here  it  ii  tlie  otg'eot:  in  mt.  8^  tt  !■  tha 
ttra.    Vox  the  form,  see  Oreen's  Heb,  Gram.f  sec.  220, 1  b.    The  correct  orthography  ia  1  v3 

p  Ver.  1. —  n]n!2t2!7^,  observanee,  guard,  watch,  from  1^127,  to  watch,  observe,  preserv$,  *tt.  Ban  It  if  «Md  m  • 
wnerete,  the  place,  or  post  of  observation. 

[«  Ver.  1. —  riD^  signifies  to  look  out,  to  look  out /or  anything,  to  await. 

[4  Ver.  1. —  "'I^nS'i'''^)  ^y  foofi  coruradiction,  reprooj,  correction,  complaint,  refers  to  the  oomplatnt,  vhleh  he 
mmkes  agunst  God  in  chap.  i.  13-17,  that  He  peimits  the  Ohaldseans  to  multiply  their  conqnests.  The  Bufflx  is  not  M 
be  taken  passively,  but  actively,  —  not  the  complaiot  against  me,  but  the  complaint  that  I  make  against  Qod.  LXX. : 
•n  Tor  i\rfx6v  itov  ;  Vulgate  :  et  quid  reapondeam  ad  atguentem  me  ;  Luther :  und  was  ieh  antworttn  $oll  eitm,  dm 
wtick  $tkiit ;  Kleinert :  was  fur  Besehfid  ieh  bringen  soil  aufmeine  Gtgenrede. 


20 


HABAKKUK. 


[6  Ver.  2. —  "ji^n,  iiision,  the  prophetic  matter  about  to  be  communicated  to  the  prophet, 

[6Ver.2. —  1^'2r)^  and  grave  Tlie  LXX.  read  Kal  o-ac^ws  ;  the  Vulgate  has  :  et  exptana  eum.  Luther:  una  viaie  es 
The  idea  of  legibility,  and  not  that  of  durability,  is  doubtless  intended.  The  verb  ~1S3  may,  therefore,  be  anaerstooA 
M  lelative  to  IIHID  *Dd  qualifying  it.     Wrile  the  vision,  and  tiiat  clearly. 

p  Ver    8   — ^17i^  7    to  the  set  time,  the  time  fixed  by  God  for  its  realization. 

[t  Ver  6   —  bC?X3    parable,  apothegm,  proverb,  poem,  song,  verse  ;  a  satirical  poem,  Is.  xiv.  4. 

[9  Ver   6.  —  rr^"*  VP  from  '^^  V,  a  song  of  derision. 

[10  Ver.  6. —  niTTI  from  ^I1^,  intricate  speech,  a  riddle,  enigma.  TheLXX.  render  them  :  wpofiKriiia  eii  SvijyiKriy ' 
the  Vulgate  rea-Af,  loquelam  mnigmatum ;  Luther:  eine  Sage  und  Sprilchwort ;  Kleinert :  eine  Staehelrede,  Ralhs'lspiele- 
Delitzsch  thinks  that  H^'' VTP  signifies  a  brilliant  oration,  oratio  splendida;  and  hence  ^"^vQ  is  used  (o  denote  an 
Interpreter,  not  from  the  obscurity  of  the  speaking  but  from  his  making  the  speech  clear  or  intelligible.  But  ther« 
•etim  to  be  no  instances  in  which  ^^l  V  has  the  meaning  of  luce.re. 

[11  Ver.  0.  —  tD''t2337,  from  12317,  to  give  a  pledge,  by  the  repetition  of  the  last  radical,  signifies  the  mass  of  pledget 
(pignorum  eaptorum  copia).     The  word    tt'^tGIIll?  may  form  two  words,  so  far  as  the  sound  is  concerned,  namely  .   327 

ti*C  cloud  (i.  e.  mass)  of  dirt.     Jerome  and  the  Syriac  take  the  word  in  this  sense.     The  Vulgate  reads:  et  aggraiat 
tonira  ne  densum  lutum  ;  Luther  :  und  ladet  nur  viel  Schlamm  auf  sich. 

[12  Ver.  7. —  vyDCJi  from  Tflf^,  'o  '"'«i  '"  '""^  ""  usury.  The  idea  seems  to  be,  that  those  would  arise,  wht 
would  demand  back  from  the  Chaldseans,  with  interest,  the  capital  of  which  they  had  unjustly  taken  possession.  There 
ia  an  antithesis  to  tl"*l2337,   at  the  close  of  the  preceding  verse. 

[18  Ver.  15.  —  T^nSin  is  the  construct  of  nDH  hxat,  wrath,  and  not  of  HX^n,  bottle.  Luther  employs  th« 
•econd  person  :  Wehe'dir,'der  du  deinem  Ndcksten  einschenkesl  und  mischest  deinen  Grimm  darunter,  etc.  So  also  Klei- 
nert :    Wehe  dir,  der  da  zu  trUiken  giebt  seinem  Ndchsten,  iiidem  du  deinen  Zornschlauch  ausgiessest. 

[14  Ver.  16.—  )i7i7"'|'?  *  °^^-  ^^■'  according  to  Keil,  formed  from  the  Pi/pal,  Vp^p  from  77p;  but,  according 
to  Henderson,  a  reduplicated  form  of  P^p,  shame.  In  some  MSS.  it  is  read  as  two  words,  W^p,  vomit,  and  "I"!  Vp, 
shame,  and  this  etymology  has  been  approved  by  both  Jewish  and  Christian  interpreters.  The  Vulgate  reads  :  et  yom- 
itiis  ignominitp.  super  gloriam  tuam  ;  Luther  :  und  musst  sehdndlich  speien  fur  deine  Herrlichkeit ;  Keil :  the  vomiting  c/ 
ihame  ;  Kleinert :    Schandgexpei  Uber  deine  Herlichkeit 

[IS  Ver.  17.  -  inTT*  nSjISniS  TtC)  LXX. :  Koi  t.  fl.  7rTo^(7et  o-e ;  Vulgate:  et  vastitas  animalium  deterrebit 
•OS  ;  Luther :  und  die  verstorten  Thi'ere  iverd'en  dich  schrecken;  Kleinert :  und  die  YerstHrung  der  Thiere,  die  er  vcrscheucht. 
Keil  considers  'jn'^n^  a  relative  clause,  and  translates  the  clause:  "and  the  devastation  among  the  animals,  which 
Mghterud  them.  According  to  this  view,  the  appended  Nun  is  not  paragogic,  but  the  verbal  sufilx  of  the  third  femi- 
nine plural,  agreeing  with  ni'^n3.  For  the  use  of  the  sufax  fem.  3  pi.  see  Green's  Heb.  Gram.,  sec.  104,  g. ;  and  for 
the  peculiar  form  of  the  verb,  sec.  141,  3.     Furst's  Heb.  Lexicon ;   die  Yerwiistung  durch  Behemot 

[16  Ver.  18.  —  CXi  vM  D^ b^bS  '   compare  etSw\a  to.  5.<j><ava,  1  Cor.  xii.  2.  —  C.  E.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

The  first  glance  shows  that  this  [second]  dia- 
logue also  is  divided  into  distinct  members. 

These  are :  — 

(1)  The  Question  of  tlie  prophet  in  the  name  of 
Israel  Is  then  the  destroyer  predicted  (vers.  5- 
II),  to  have  continual  security'?     i.  12-ii.  1. 

(2).  The  Answer  of  God  by  the  prophet  (ii.  2-20).- 
Every  one  v^'ho  is  guilty  and  does  not  trust  in  the 
living  God  mu.st  be  destroyed,  consequently  also 
the  destroyer. 

I.  Chap.  i.  ver.  12-ii.  1.  The  Question.  As  if  the 
prophet  had  fallen  into  terror  by  the  distressing  an- 
swer and  the  terrifying  description,  which  the  Spirit 
of  God  drew  by  hi'm  of  the  destroyer,  and  had  in 
the  mean  time  failed  to  hear  of  the  glorious  prospect, 
which  was  already  opening  up  in  ver.  11,  he  turns, 
praying  and  expostulating,  to  God  :  Art  thou  not 
from  eternity,  Jehovah,  my  God,  my  Holy 
One  ?  in  order  to  receive  himself  the  consoling 
confidence  from  the  experimental  fnith,  which  puts 
this  address  in  his  mouth  :  we  shall  not  die. 
"Jehovah,  my  God"  is  the  vocative,  and  "my 
Holy  One  "  is  the  predicate.     The  suffixes  of  the 


first  person  refer  not  to  the  prophet  as  an  individ 
ual,  but  to  the  people  whom  he  represents  ;  for  ac- 
cording to  the  usage  of  Scripture  language  Jeho- 
vah is  not  the  Kivdosch  [Holy  One]  of  the  prophet, 
but  the  Kadosch  of  Israel ;  hence  in  the  verb  the 
change  to  the  plural.  Jehovah  is  implored  as  the 
Holy  One,  t.  e.,  as  He,  who  in  a  special  manner, 
by  special  avowal  of  property  [in  them]  and  spec- 
ial revelation  (Ex.  xix.  4),  adopted  Israel  from 
amonj^  all  nations ;  and  hence  as  He  requires  spec- 
ial purity  from  Israel,  so  also  He  will  exercise 
special  mercy  toward  him  (Hos.  xi.  9) ;  and  [He  ia 
implored]  as  He,  who  has  life  in  Himself,  so  that 
whoever  abides  in  Him,  cannot  be  abandoned  tc 
death.  (Hence  H^ltt^D  S?).  Compare  the  JaArft. 
f.  deutsche  Theologie  [Journal  of  German  Theol- 
ogy], xii.  (1867),  l,p.  42  f.  As  such,  God  had 
shown  himself  from  times  of  old  (comp.  Is.  Ixiii. 
16),  and  He  is  one  Jehovah,  one  continuing  al- 
ways the  same  (Ex.  iii.  14 ;  Deut.  xxxii.  40) , 
hence  also  now  He  will  not  show  himself  other' 
wise.  But  at  the  same  time  there  lies  also  in  the 
designation  Kaddsch  the  ethical  reason  that  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel  cannot  leave  unpunished  (Nah. 
ii.  3)  him,  who  has  done  injury  to  his  sanctuary 
Ps.  cxiv.  2) ;  and  then  the  concluding  thought  u 


CHAPTERS   I.   12-11.  20 


21 


introduced  by  virtue  of  vcr.  11,  which  is  afterward 
further  carried  out  in  ver.  13.  Rather,  if  Jehovah 
jjcnnits  the  destroyer  at  all  to  exercise  violence 
upon  Israel,  the  ground  of  it  is  a  phiii  of  Divine 
Wisdom  and  )f  a  holy  (government  of  the  world  : 
fehovah,  for  judgment  hast  thou  appointed  it, 
.^.nd  thou  Kock  hast  founded  it  for  chastise- 
ment. The  noun  -):i^  signifies  figuratively  the 
same  thing  as  Jehovali  in  renlity  ;  the  unchange- 
ithle  God,  wlio  among  all  the  jierverse  w.iys  of  men 
remains  always  tlie  same,  (l)eut.  xxxii.  37  ;  I's. 
xviii.  32,  and  above).  The  chastisement  does  not 
tend  to  the  destruction,  but  to  the  salvation  of 
those  who  are  chastised  (Ps.  cxviii.  18).  The  voc- 
atives Jehovah  and  Rock  are  continued  by  the 
vocative  address  ver.  13  :  Thou  art  too  pure  in 
thine  eyes  to  be  able  to  look  upon  evil  (for  the 
i-onstr.  comp.  Judges  vii.  2  ;  Deut.  xiv.  24)  and 
thou  canst  not  look,  inactively,  upon  mischief 
(comp.  on  ver.  3) ;  thou,  who  on  account  of  un- 
godliness among  us,  bringest  up  the  d"stvoyer, 
why  wilt  thou  look  upon  the  plunderer  ? 
Thou  wilt  also  not  leave  the  sin  unpunished,  with 
vrhich  thou  punishest  sin.  Boged  is  in  prophecy 
a  standing  term  for  designating  the  violent  Baby- 
lonian conqueror  (Is.  xxi.  2  ;  xxiv.  16).  The  w/ii/ 
is  rhetorical :  Thou  canst  certainly  not  do  it. 
Why  art  thou  silent  —  epexegetical  to  the  apa- 
thetic looking  on  inc,  for  the  purpose  of  designating 
it  as  an  inactive,  tranquil  letting-alone  (comp.  Ps. 
1.  21 ) ;  —  when  the  wicked  —  who  does  not  even 
know  thee,  but  has  always  been  at  a  distance  from 
thee  (comp.  Micah  ii.  4)  —  devours  him,  who  is 
more  righteous  than  he  .^  Although  there  is 
much  wickedness  in  Israel,  yet,  because  tlie  Holy 
One  (ver.  12)  dwells  in  the  midst  of  them,  they 
are  still  much  more  righteous  (comp.  the  N.  T. 
idea  of  the  SiKaioi  and  ayioi),  tlian  he,  who  pur- 
poses to  extirpate  the  worship  of  Jehovah  along 
with  his  people;  comp.  Is.  xxxvi.  15  IF.  Grotius  : 
"Judcei  magnis  crimimbus  involuti  erant,  sed  tamen  in 
ea  re  multtim  a  Chaldais  super abantur." 

The  "^^^  is  tn  be  supplied  in  ver.  14  also  from 
ver.  13:  and  why  makest  thou,  wilt  thou  make 
men  like  fishes  of  the  sea.     [So  Henderson  ;  but 

Keil  does  not  supply  ^^7 C.  E.J     These  are 

not  considered  as  elsewhere  with  reference  to  their 
great  number,  but  to  their  defenselessness  against 
the  fisher's  net,  to  which  the  Chaldaean  is  compared. 
Hence  the  parallel  clause :  like  the  reptile  —  here 
the  creeping  things  of  the  sea  (as  in  Ps.  civ.  2.5)  — 
which  has  no  ruler,  no  one  wlio  apjiears  to  care  for, 
protect  and  defend  them,  who  goes  before  collecting 
means  for  defense.  Where  there  is  no  ruler  there 
are  helplessness  and  destruction  (Micah    iv.  9). 

Instead  of  17,  indicating  possession,  121  stands  in 

the  short  relative  clause,  because  7ti?Q  jg  con- 
strued with  this  preposition ;  literally,  no  one  rules 
^ver  them. 

Ver.  15.  All  of  them  (comp.  ver.  9)  [suf.  n 
referring  to  the  collective  ^7^'  ^^^-  ^*  —  C.  E.] 
he,  the  fisher,  lifts  up  with  his  hook,  from  the 
deep  in  which  they  thought  themselves  safe.  [Be- 
rause  the  short  vowel  seghol  is  lengthened  in  the 

first  syllable  of  n72?n  into  tsere,  thecorrespond- 
'i^  hhateph-seghol  must  pass  over  into  hhateph- 
pattach,  which  occurs  after  all  rowels  except  seg- 
hol and  kamets.     Ges.,  sec.  63.  Rem.  4. J.     And 

he  draws  (712)  them  into  his  net,  and  collects 


them  in  his  fish-net.  Therefore  —  to  his  net 
(ver.  16).  That  is  to  say,  he  sacrifices  to  his  mar 
tial  power,  by  which  he  brings  the  nations  under 
his  sway,  and  which  is  forsooth  his  god  (ver.  II). 
The  Sarmatians  were  accustomed  to  offer  annu- 
ally a  sacrifice  to  a  sabre  set  up  as  an  insignia  of 
Mars  (Her.,  iv.  59,  62;  Clem.  Al.,  Protrept.  64). 
Whether  a  similar  custom  exit  ted  among  the 
Babylonians  is  not  known ;  this  passage  is  clear 
without  the  su])positiou  of  such  .i  custom.  For 
by  them,  net  and  fish-net,  his  portion  is  rich, 
his  ])ossessions  and  gain  (Eccl.  ii.  lu),  and  his 
food  is  fat.  It  is  the  manner  of  men  to  render 
divine  honor  to  that,  by  which  they  procure  the 
means  of  living  luxuriously  ;  and  idolatry  is  a  per- 
version of  the  necessity  of  gratitude,  which  searches 
after  the  giver  (Hos.  ii.  10). 

Ver.  17.  But,  therefore,  shall  he  empty  his 
net,  *'.  e.,  for  the  purpose  of  casting  it  out  again 
for  a  new  draught  and  always  strangle  nations 
without  sparing?  That,  Thou,  the  only  One, 
certainly  canst  not  suffer,  comp.  ver.  13.  In  the 
last   member  the  figurative  language  changes   to 

literal ;  the  infinitive  with  7  is  not  dependent 
upon  7Dn,  but  it  stands  instead  of  the  finite 
verb.  Compare  on  Micah  v.  1,  boH''  sb,  "  un- 
sparingly," a  frequent  periphrase  of  the  adverb  by 
means  of  an  adverbial  clause  (Is.  xxx.  14  ;  Job  vi. 
10). 

Like  Micah  vii.  7  and  Asaph,  Ps.  Ixxiii.  28,  the 
prophet  (ii.  1 )  flees  from  the  picture  of  destruc- 
tion, which  involuntarily  unrolls  itself  again  be- 
fore his  eye,  to  the  solitary  height  of  observation 
where  he  hopes  to  learn  the  ways  and  direction  of 
God.  I  will  stand  upon  my  watch-tower  and 
station  myself  upon  the  fortress.  The  lan- 
guage is  not  literal,  like  that  of  Deut.  xxii.  3  ;  but 
figurative  (comp.  Is.  xxi.  8)  ;  since  the  prophet 
does  not  pretend,  like  the  heathen  Seer,  to  discovei 
the  Word  of  God  from  any  celestial  sign  observed 
in  solitude  ;  but  he  receives  it  ia  the  heart  (Deut 
xxx.  14;  Num.  xii.  6).  [Keil:  "Standing  upon 
the  watch,  and  stationing  himself  upon  the  forti 
fication,  are  not  to  be  understood  as  something 
external,  as  Hitzig  supposes,  implying  that  the 
prophet  went  up  to  a  lofty  and  steep  place,  or  to 
an  actual  tower,  that  he  might  be  far  from  the 
noise  and  bustle  of  men,  and  there  turn  his  eyea 
toward  heaven,  and  direct  his  collected  mind  to- 
wards God,  to  look  out  for  a  revelation.  For 
nothing  is  known  of  any  such  custom  as  this 
since  the  cases  mentioned  in  Ex.  xxxiii.  21  and  1 
Kings  xix.  11,  as  extraordinary  preparations  foi 
God  to  reveal  Himself,  are  of  a  totally  different 
kind  from  this  ;  and  the  fact  that  Balaam  the 
soothsayer  went  up  to  the  top  of  a  bare  height  to 
look  out  for  a  revelation  from  God  (Num.  xxiii. 
3),  furnishes  no  proof  that  the  true  prophets  of 
Jehovah  did  the  same,  but  is  rather  a  heathenish 
feature,  which  shows  that  it  was  because  Balaam 
did  not  rejoice  in  the  possession  of  a  firm  pro- 
phetic word,  that  he  looked  out  for  revelations 
from  God  in  significan:  pher  omena  of  nature  (see 
at  Num.  xxiii.  3,  4).  The  words  of  our  verse  are 
to  be  taken  figuratively,  or  internally,  like  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  watchman  in  Is.  xxi.  6.  Tht 
figure  is  taken  from  the  custom  of  ascending  high 
places  for  the  purpose  of  looking  into  the  distance 
(2  Kings  ix.  17  ;  2  Sam.  xviii.  24),  and  simply  ex- 
presses the  spiritual  preparation  of  the  prophet's 
soul  for  hearing  the  Word  of  God,  i.  e.,  the  collect 


22 


HABAKKUK. 


Jng  of  his  mind  by  qnictly  entering  into  himself, 
and  meditating  upon  the  word  and  testimonies  of 
God."  —  C.  E.]  Hence  he  continues  :  and  I  will 
Bwait,  literally  look  out  for,  what  He  will  speak 
In  me,  "  accurate  observarc,  quce  nunc  in  spiritu  men- 
tis continc/ant,"  Barck.  Compare  Hos.  i.  2.  Oehler 
in  Herzog,  R.  E.,  xvii.  637.     And  what  answer  I 

Bhall  bring  to  my  complaiat.  ^"'Ji^n  as  in  2 
Sam.  xxiv.  13.  In  direct  words  the  prophet  oc- 
cupies the  position  of  a  mediator  founded  on 
Micaz  vii.  1  :  he  complains  and  answers  himself; 
by  virtue  of  his  subjectivity,  which  connects  him 
to  the  people,  he  represents  them ;  and  by  virtue 
of  the  Spirit  which  comes  upon  him,  and  to  which 
bis  Ego  listens  eagerly  as  something  objective,  he 
represents  God.     He  calls  his  address,  which  has 

just  been  concluded,  nn!3in,  a  rejoinder,  prop- 
erly a  speech  for  tlie  purpose  of  conviction,  or 
vindication,  in  a  law  suit  (Job  xiii.  6) ;  with  refer- 
ence to  the  fact,  that,  against  the  threatening, 
which  was  in  the  first  answer  of  God,  it  took  the 
character  of  an  objection,  a  deprecatio,  an  appeal 
to  the  mercy,  holiness,  and  justfce  of  God. 

The  answer  follows  immediately  in  the  Reply  of 
Jehovah,  ver.  2-20.  It  is  introduced  by  a  paren- 
thesis, giving  directions  and  information  to  the 
prophet,  like  the  reply  of  Micah  to  the  fiilse  pre- 
dictions of  the  false  proplicts  (ill.  1):  and  Jeho- 
vah answered  me  and  said.  After  an  Introitus, 
which  has  tlie  jnirpose  of  indicating  the  import- 
ance and  immutability  of  the  decrees  announced, 
and  after  a  Divine  acknowledgment  that  the  de- 
stroyer is  worthy  of  punisliment,  the  reply  runs 
into  a  five-fold  woe,  which  announces  judgment 
upon  all  ungodly,  rapacious,  idolatrous  conduct, 
consequently  a  general  judgment  of  the  world, 
which  involves  also  the  destruction  of  the  con- 
queror. 

Vers.  2  b,  3.  Introitus.    Write  down  the  vision 

'comp.  on  i.  1  ;  Ob.  1).  pTR  is  not  merely  that 
.vhich  is  seen,  but  also  that  which  is  inwardly  per- 
ceived :   nTn  relates  to  the  eye  of  the  soul.     And 

make  it  plain  (~)SZ1  a,s  in  Deut.  xxvii.  8)  on 
tables,  that  he  may  make  haste,  who  reads  it, 
I.  e.,  write  it  so  plainly  that  every  one  passing  by 

may  be  able  to  read  it  quickly  and  easily ;  S"1p 

to  read,  with  2  as  in  Jer.  xxxvi.  13.  From  the 
fact  that  the  tables  are  designated  by  the  article  as 
known,  Calvin  has  already,  in  the  Introduction  to 
his  commentary  on  Isaiah,  drawn  the  conclusion 
that  tables  were  put  up  in  the  temple  (Luther, 
Ewald  :  in  the  market-place),  on  which  the  prophets 
noted  down  a  summary  of  their  prophecies,  in  order 
to  make  them  known  to  the  whole  people.  In  this 
way  he  thinks  the  possibility  of  preserving  so 
many  prophecies  from  being  falsified  may  be  un- 
derstood :  the  tablets,  on  which  they  were  written, 
were  taken  down  and  piled  up  Indeed  this  latter 
supposition  has  nothing  incredible ;  this  method 
of  preservation,  as  the  most  recent  excavations 
prove,  was  well  known  in  the  ancient  East.  In  an 
excavation  at  Kouyunjik  (Introd.  to  Nahum,  p.  9) 
the  workmen  came  ujion  a  chamber  full  of  tablets 
of  terra  cotta,  with  inscriptions  in  perfect  preserva- 
tion, piled  in  heaps  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling. 
'Compare  Zeitschrift  der  Deutsch-morgenldndisrhen 
deselkchaft  [the  Journal  of  the  German  Oriental 
Society]  v.  p  446 ;  x.  pp.  728,  731  ;  and  on  the 
x>ntjnt8  of  the  tablets  Brandis,  art.  "  Assyria,"  in 
PhuIj's  Encyclopedia,  i.  p,  1890).     The  tablet,  of 


course,  of  which  Isaiah  speaks,  viii.  1,  is  not  a  pub 
lie  one,  but  one  disposable  for  the  private  use  of 
the  prophets  (comp.  v.  16),  and  on  that  account  i', 
might  appear  doubtful  whether  such  tablets  were 
constantly  fixed  up;  but  at  all  events  it  follows  in 
this  passage  that  it  was  incumbent  upon  the 
prophet  to  fix  them  up.  The  article  then  points 
to  the  fact  that  the  prophet  had  already  laid  them 
up  for  writing  down  the  vision ;  since  indeed  he  was 
not  surprised  by  it,  but  he  had  looked  out  for  it 
(ver.  1).  The  reason  that  several  tablets  are  men- 
tioned here,  and  not  one,  as  in  Isaiah,  is  found  in 
the  rich  and  various  contents  of  the  five-fold  woe. 
But  at  all  events  the  design  of  the  command,  as 
the  connection  with  what  follows  shows,  is  two- 
fold :  first,  that  the  word  may  be  made  known  to 
all  (comp.  Is.  viii.  1 ) ;  secondly,  that  it  shall  not 
be  obliterated  and  changed,  but  fulfilled  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  wording.  (Comp.  Job.  xix. 
24;  Is.  XXX.  8.) 

The  latter  reason  appears  with  special  force  in 
ver.  3 :  for  the  vision  is  yet  for  the  appointed 
time,  still  waits  for  a  time  of  fulfillment,  lying 
perhaps  in  a  far  distant  future,  but  nevertheless 
a  fixed  (this  is  indicated  by  the  article)  time 
(comp.  Dan.  x.  14)  ;  what  this  set  time  is,  that 
which  follows  declares  :  and  it  strives  to  [reach] 
the  end:  the  final  time,  withheld  from  human 
knowledge  (Acts  i.  7),  which  God  has  appointed 
for  the  fulfillment  of  his  promises  and  threatenings 
(comp.  on  Micah  iv.  1  ;  Dan.  viii.  19,  17).     The 

verb  nD\  it  puffs,  pants  to  the  end,  is  chosen  with 
special  emphasis  :  "  true  prophecy  is  animated,  as 
it  were,  by  an  impulse  to  fulfill  itself."     Hitzig. 

[The   third   imp.    (Hiph.)    nS^    is   formed   with 

tsere,  like  "^P^?  Ez.  xviii.  14].  And  it  does  not 
lie,  like  those  predictions  of  the  false  prophets, 
which  fixed  the  time  of  prosperity  as  near  at  hand 
(Micah  ii.  11).     Therefore,  iJF  it  tarry,  wait  for  it 

(comp.  viii.  17) ;  for  it  will  come  (comp.  S12 
of  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy,  1  Sam.  ix.  6),  and 

not  fail  (~inS  as  in  Judges  v.  28 :  2  Sam.  xx.  .5). 
The  use  of  this  passage,  Heb.  x.  37,  where  it  seems 
to  be  combined  with  Is.  xxvi.  20,  is  grounded  on 
the  translation  of  the  LXX.,  who  point  the  pre- 
ceding inf.  abs.  ^2  as  the  part.  1^2,  and  under- 
stand by  the  epx^jJ-^vos,  who  will  certainly  come, 
the  Messiah,  the  judge  of  the  world.  There  is 
no  objection  to  this  Messianic  reference,  so  far  as 
the  meaning  is  concerned,  since  all  prophecy  has 
its  goal  in  Christ ;  but,  if  we  accept  that  punctua- 
tion, the  reference  cannot  lie  in  the  words,  since 
in  ease  the  definite  individual,  Messiah,  is  referred 

to,  we  must  at  least  read  W^H. 

Ver.  4-6  a.  The  starting-point  of  the  following 
announcement  of  the  judgment  is  exhibited  as  an 
ethical  one  with  special  reference  to  the  conqueror. 
Behold  pufifed  up,  his  soul  is  not  upright  in 
him,  consequently  he  must  perish,  which  furnishes 
the  antithesis  to  ''live"  in  the  second  half  of  the 
verse.  In  harmony  with  i.  7-11,  the  insolent  defi- 
ance, exhibited  in  his  pride,  putting  itself  in  the 
place  of  God,  is  pointed  out  as  the  pith  of  the  sin 
of  the  foreigner. 

LnT'Q^,  3  fcm.   Pual,  denominative  from  the 

subst.  vD37,  mound,  tumor,  from  which  also  a 
Hiphil,  Num.  xiv.  44,  is  formed.]  The  uprightness 
4  b,  forms  a  contrast  to  it  which  consequently  i« 


CHATTERS  I.  12-11.  20. 


23 


Qot  here,  as  at  other  times,  opposed  to  it  like  sim- 
plicity to  cunning  sophistry  (Ecc.  vii.  29),  but  like 
humble  rectitude  to  lying  ostentation. 

All  pride  against  God  rests  on  self-deception ; 
and  the  judgment  has  no  other  object  with  refer- 
ence to  this  self-deception  than  to  lay  it  open, 
whereby  it  is  proved  to  be  nothing,  consequently 
its  possessor  falls  to  destruction.  But  the  just 
will  live,  not  by  his  pride,  not  at  all  by  anything 
that  is  his  own,  but  by  the  constancy  of  his  faith 
resting  upon  God  and  his  word.  The  use,  which 
the  Apostle  Paul  makes  of  these  words  (Rom.  i. 
17  ;  conip.  Gal.  iii.  11),  is  authorized,  since  there 
as  here  the  antithesis,  by  which  the  idea  broad  in 
itself  is  distinctly  sketched,  is  the  haughty  boast 
of  his  own  power  entangled  in  sin.  [On  the  con- 
trary the  application  of  the  first  half  of  the  verse 
iieb.  X.  38,  is  obscured  by  the  use  of  the  incorrect 
transhition  of  the  LXX.,  as  it  is  not  characterized 
as  an  argumentative  citation  by  the  free  transposi- 
tion of  both  lialves  of  tlie  verse,  but  as  a  free  re- 
production. Compare  Bengel  on  the  passage.] 
Isaiah  vii.  9  is  also  parallel  to  this  passage  in  sense. 
The  idea  of  faith,  which,  in  this  passage  and  gen- 
erally in  the  0.  T.  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the 
words  n3"10M  resp.  "J"^ttSrT,  is  not  yet  the  spe- 
cific N.  T.  idea  of  the  appropriation  of  the  pardon- 
ing grace  of  God,  which  brings  salvation,  but  the 
broader  one,  which  we  find  in  Heb.  ii.  :  laying  firm 

hold   upon  (]^ttSn),  and   standing   firmly  upon 

(riDIJSS)  the  word  and  promise  of  God,  the  firm 
reliance  of  the  soul  upon  the  invisible,  which  can- 
not be  depressed  and  misled  by  the  antagonism  of 
that  which  is  seen:  constautia,  Jiducia.  [For  the 
word  inrSffTatris,  Heb.  xi.  1  (Oetinger:  substruc- 
ture), is  certainly  not  chosen  without  reference  to 

the  stem  "JS3M.  Compare  the  verb  HSH,  ver. 
3.     Hitzig  is  certainly  right  in  claiming  for  the 

substantive  Hj^DS  the  signification  of  fiiithful 
disposition  =  npl!J  5  in  passages  like  Prov.  xii. 
17  and  Ez.  xviii.  22,  comp.  1  Sam.  xxvi.  23,  it 
cannot  be  doubled.  But  this  meaning,  however,  is 
to  be  explained  from  the  etymon,  and  is  not  in  it- 
self the  only  authorized  one ;  and  one  needs  not  go 

back  to  the  Hiphil  ]"*X2Sn  (as  H.  seems  to  think), 
in  order  to  discover  as  the  primary  meaning,  of 
the  word  ]^S,  that  of  standing  firm.  As  pl!J 
is  the  adherence  of  God  to  his  word  and  covenant 
and  the  adherence  of  man  to  the  word  and  coven- 
ant of  God,  so  HDlDt^  (compare  the  prevailing 
usage  of  the  Psalms,  especially  Ps.  Ixxxix.  25, 
comp.  29)  is  the  standing  fast  on  the  part  of  God 
to  his  word  (vcr.  1,  12),  and  the  standing  fast  on 
the  part  of  man  to  the  word  of  God  :  any  other 
constancy  than  that  of  a  mind  established  on  the 
word  of  God  the  N.  T.  docs  not  know,  at  least 
not  as  a  virtue.  Comp.  below  Luther  on  the  pas- 
sage. 

The  general  point  of  view,  ver.  4,  from  which  it 
is  plain,  what  he  says  of  the  Babylonians,  is  par- 
ticularized and  enlarged  in  ver.  5,  whilst  the  crimes 
of  the  Babylonian  are  placed  under  the  light  of 
ex])erience,  as  it  is  expressed  in  a  proverb.    And 

moreover  (the  combination  "'D  SS  stands  here  in 
its  natural  signification,  indicated  by  both  words 
themselves,  not  in  the  modified  meaning,  as  in  1 
Kinps  viii.  27  ;  Gen.  iii.  1 ),  wine  is  treacherous. 


The  Babylonians  were  notorious  for  their  inclina- 
tion to  drink  :  compare  Curtius,  ver.  1  :  "  Bahylonit 
maxime  in  tnnum  et  quce  ebrietatem  sequuntur  effun 
sunt ; "  and  in  general  concerning  their  luxury^ 
the  characteristic  fragment  of  Nicolaus  Damas- 
cenus  [Fragm.  Hist.  Grcec,  ed.  C.  Miiller,  vol.  ii. 
Paris,  1848.  Fragm.  8-10,  p.  357  ff".).  [Rawlin- 
son's  Ancimt  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  504,  507.  — 
C.   E.].      The  brief  formula  has   the    stamp  of 

the  proverb,  and  "^32  is  not  used  in  the  sense  of 
violent  plundering,  as  in  i.  13,  but  in  that  of  per- 
fidious treachery,  as  in  Lam.  i.  2  ;  .Job  vi.  15  (here 
also  intrans.).  In  drunkenness  men  arrogate  to 
themselves  high  things,  and  afterward  have  not 
strength  for  them.  Comp.  also  Prov.  xxiii.  31  f. 
The  otiier  proverb  reads  :  A  boastful  man,  great- 
mouth,  continues  not.  "JTI^,  only  here  and 
Pi'ov.  xxi.  24,  signifies,  in  the  latter  passage  by 
virtue  of  the  parallelism  (^^.)  and  according  to 
the  versions,  tumidus,  arrot/ans.     The  predicate  is 

attracted  by  1,  in  order  to  give  emphasis  to  the 
subject,  as  in  Gen.  xxii.  24 ;  Ew.,  sec.  344  b. 
(Hupfeld  on  Ps.  i.,  1  takes  "l^H^  "132  as  predicate 
to  ])'^-,  this,  however,  is  too  artificial. 

That  which  follows  forms  together  with  ver.  6  a 
subjoined  relative  sentence,  whilst  the  relative  in- 
troduced before  [its  antecedent]  is  defined  by  the 

V737  in  the  following  verse  ;  and  the  contents  of 
this  subjoined  sentence  is  the  direct  application  of 
vers.  4,  5  a  to  the  Chaldfean  :  He,  who  widens 
his  desire  like  the  insatiable  (Prov.  xxvii.  20) 

jaws  of  hell.  tt7?3,  as  in  Ps.  xvii.  9  ;  compare 
for  the  figure  Is.  v.  14.  Yea,  he,  who  like  death 
is  not  satisfied  (construction  as  in  the  first  mem- 
ber), but  gathers  together  all  peoples  to  himself 
(comp.  i.  15)  and  collects  together  all  nations 
to  himself;  will  not  all  these  (comp.  Nah.  iii. 
19)  take  up  a  proverb  concerning  him,  yea  a 

satirical  speech,  a  riddle  upon  him  ?  On  Stt73 
compare  Commentary  on  Nah.  i.  1.  /ti"'Q,  usu- 
ally a  figurative  discourse,  then  a  brief  epigram,  a 
proverb  (Prov.  i.  1) ;  here  as  in  Is.  xiv.  4,  accord- 
ing to  the  connection,  a  scoffing,  mocking  song,  in 
view  of  the  certainty  of  the  fate  prepared  for  him 
The  same  sense  is  given  by  the  context  to  the 

word  nS'^ba,  to  which  it  [the  sense]  seems  more 

nearly  related  by  the  root  V ''»  to  mock,  and  the 

derivatives  Vi?  arid  P^^.  •  Yet  this  is  in  fact  no 
more  than  semblance,  as  the  passage,  Prov.  i.  6, 
proves,  from  which  Habakkuk  borrows  the  phrase- 
ology of  this  verse,  and  in  which  nothing  of  de- 
rision is  to  be  found.  We  must  rather  go  back  to 
the  Hiphil  of  the  stem,  which  signifies  interpre- 

tari:    \^"'7tt  is  an  interpreter.     (Delitzsch  denies 

this  signification  of  V^ ''U  [Hiph.  pret.],  however 
without  proof;  his  explanation,  brilliant  oration, 
is  entirely  imaginary.)  Therefore  n^"'/P  is  not 
an  explanatory  saying,  /.  e.,  it  is  not  an  illustra- 
tive, luminous  one  (Kcil),  the  contrary  of  which 
the  passage  Prov.  i.  6,  and  likewise  the  character 
of  the  proverb  following,  prove,  but  it  is  a  saying 
which  needs  interpretation  (as  our  riddle  does  not 
guess,  but  is  intended  to  be  guessed),  an  apothegm 
(so  the  LXX.  on  Prov,  i.  6  :  (TKoreivhs  \iyat ;  ir 


24 


HABAKKUK. 


this  passage  they  construe  n!J"'7^  with  what  fol- 
lows) ,  accordingly  it  is  synonymous  with  the  fol- 
lowing word  mTTI,  alviyfxaTa,  enigma  —  an  ex- 
tremely popular  form  of  poetry  in  the  East,  and 
which  is  also  among  us  a  favorite  form  of  popular 
political  ridicule.  Certainly  to  the  mind  of  the 
prophet  it  is  something  different,  a  prophetic 
speech. 

(Keil  :  "  Mdshal  is  a  sententious  poem,  as  in 
Mic.  ii.  4  and  Is.  xiv.  4,  not  a  derisive  song,  for 
this  subordinate  meaning  could  only  be  derived 
from  the  context,  as  in  Is.  xiv.  4  for  example ; 
and  there  is  nothing  to  suggest  it  here.  So,  again 
M'^litmh  neither  signifies  a  satirical  song,  nor  an 
obscure  enigmatical  discourse,  but,  as  Delitzsch 
has   shown,   from  the   first   of  the  two   primary 

meanings  combined  in  the  verb  Y^^,  lucere  and 
Inscivire,  a  brilliant  oration,  or  alio  splendida,  from 

which  V**  .^  is  used  to  denote  interpreter,  so 
called,  not  from  the  obscurity  of  the  speaking,  but 
from  his  making  the  speech  clear  or  intelligible. 


ib  niTH 


IS    m    apposition    to 


ni^^bri 


and 


^^^'^>  adding  the  more  precise  definition,  that  the 
sayings  contain  enigmas  relating  to  him  (the  Chal- 
daean)." 

Lucere  does  noi  seem  to  be  one  of  the  primary 

meanings  of  V'^ ''•  Fiirst  gives  umherspringen,  — 
hiipfen  (aus  Muthwillen),  dah.  muthwillig,  ausgel- 
a$sen,  unruhigen  Geistes  sein ;  iibertr.  ve^hohnen,  — 
spotten,  achten  unhestdndig  sein.  Gesenius  balbu- 
tire,  (1)  barbare  loqui;  (2)  ilbidere,  iiridere  alicui. 
Thesaurus.  See  "  Special  Introduction  to  the 
Proverbs  of  Solomon,"  sect.  11,  note  2,  in  this 
Commentary.  —  C.  E.] 

Vers.  6  b-20.  The  Fivefold  Woe.  Two  views 
are  possible  concerning  the  contents  of  this  dis- 
course. One  may  view  it  either  wholly  as  the 
song  of  the  nations  indicated  ver.  6  a,  conse- 
quently as  entirely  and  specially  directed  against 
Babylon ;  or  that  only  the  first  woe  constitutes 
this  song,  but  in  the  others  the  prophet  retains  the 
form  once  begun,  in  order  to  connect  with  them 
;;eneral  thoughts  of  the  judgment.  If  in  f;ivor  of 
this  latter  view  no  further  argument  can  be  urged 
than  the  one,  that  in  the  time  of  Habakkuk,  Neb- 
uchadnezzar had  not  yet  committed  all  the  sins, 
which  are  here  laid  to  his  charge,  a  consideration 
on  which  Hitzig  certainly  lays  stress,  one  might 
perhaps  be  authorized  in  calling  it,  with  Maurer 
and  Keil,  the  most  infelicitous  of  all.  But  not 
only  the  general  contents  of  the  following  threat- 
enings,  which  as  much  concern  the  sins  of  Judah, 
as  those  of  the  Chaldaians,  are  in  favor  of  it ;  but 
also  the  circumstance  that  it  appears  worthy  of 
God,  after  the  impressive  introduction,  vers.  2,  3, 
and  the  profound  conclusion  ver.  4  to  command 
the  prediction  not  of  a  mere  amplified  derisory 
song  of  the  naticms,  but  of  a  universal  threatcn- 
'ng  against  sin,  in  which  of  course  and  before  all 
ihe  sin  of  the  Chaldajans  is  also  to  be  included. 
Further,  in  favor  of  this  view  is  the  fact  that  pre- 
cisely the  first  woe,  vers.  6-8,  has  both  the  form  of 
the  brief,  aphoristic,  enigmatical  song  and  a  direct 
reference  toBabyJon,  while  in  the  second  and  third 
both  are  entirely  wanting ;  and  further  that  the 
immediate  transition  from  such  a  poetical  form  in 
the  beginning  to  a  more  extended  prophetical  ad- 
dress frequently  occurs  in  other  places  in  the 
prophets  (Mic.  ii.  4  AT. ;  Is.  xxiii.  16  ff. ;  xiv.  4  flF.). 


Also  the  plural  of  mPIV  ver.  2,  points  rathej 
I  to  a  plurality  of  objects  of  the  prophecy  than  to 
a  single  one  ;  and  so  also  the  concluding  formula 
ver.  20  (all  the  world),  points  to  the  universality 
of  the  predicted  judgment.  Finally,  we  had  in 
chap.  i.  the  same  double  reference  of  the  prophecy; 
both  to  the  intolerableness  of  the  present  sinful 
state  of  things  (ver.  2  ff.),  and  to  that  ot  the  future 
state  o<  calamity  ;  both  are  characterized  by  en- 
tirely parallel  formulae,  comp.  namely,  vers.  3  and 
13  :  the  five  woes  correspond  to  both  complaints. 

Vers.  6-8.  Firat  Woe.  It  is  immediately  con- 
nected by  the  I^S*'']  to  the  "ISU?^  in  ver.  6  a,  and 
thereby  expressly  pointed  out  as  the  song  raised 
by  the  oppressed  over  the  fall  of  the  conqueror. 
'  ^T  is  used  here,  as  in  2  Kings  ix.  17  ;  Is.  Iviii.  9  ; 

Ps.  Iviii.  1 2,  in  distinction  from  the  aorist  1^S*1, 
as  an  annexed  jussive  form  in  a  future  sense  and 
impersonal  (comp.  Micah  ii.  4)  ;  they  shall  say: 
Woe  (comp.  on  Nah.  iii.  1 )  to  Mm  who  accu 
mulates  what  is  not  his  owii.  i v"t^7  as  in  i. 
6.  By  this  accord  of  sounds  the  solution  of  the 
enigma,  which  lies  in  this  designation  of  the  Baby- 
lonian, is  undoubtedly  and  fully  suggested.  How- 
ever, there  is  in  the  accord  itself,  as  Delitzsch  re- 
marks, a  new  enigma,  to  wit,  the  ambiguity :  he 
accumulates  not  for  himself  (Eccl.  ii.  25).  In  the 
following  expression  :  For  how  long,  the  excla- 
mation, how  long  already  I  as  Hitzig  thinks,  is  not 
intended;  but  the  exclamation,  how  long  still! 
The  entire  contents  of  the  verse  show  that  he  does 
not  suppose  the  catastrophe  as  having  already 
taken  place,  but  he  predicts  it  in  the  midst  of  the 
oppression.  Generally  the  formula  '^r\72  IV  i* 
employed  only  in  the  sense  of  complaint  concern 
ing  a  present  evil.  And  who  loads  himself  with 
a  burden  of  pledges  gained  by  usury  (comp.  i. 
11).  12^!2317  is  also  ambiguous  :  derived  from  the 
root  12337.  it  can  signify  either  a  inass  of  pledges 
(comp.  1  I^D,  shower  of  rain,  T*"^tt3,  thick  dark- 
ness) :  to  wit,  the  laboriously  acquired  property  of 
the  nations,  which  he  collects  together,  just  as  the 
unmerciful  usurer  heaps  up  jjledges  contrary  to  the 
law  of  Moses  (Deut.  xxiv.  10)  ;  and  which  he  must 
for  that  reason  deliver  up ;  or  it  may  be  consid- 
ered as  a  composite  of  ^37  (thickness,  comp.  Hupf. 
on  Ps.  xviii.  12)  and  T2"^!2,  thick  mud.  Compare 
Nah.  iii.  6. 

Ver.  7.  'Will  not  those  who  bite  thee  rise  up 
suddenly  (a  play  upon  words  between  Tf  f  2,  bite  of 
a  snake,  and'^^^,  interest :  who  recover  usury  from 
thee) ;  and  those  who  shake  thee  violently  [al- 
lusion to  the  violent  seizure  of  a  debtor  by  his  cred- 
itor—  C.  E.]  wake  up  (ft-om  VP'')  •  ■^^**  *^°^ 
wilt  become  a  booty  to  them,  niDCiC,  phir. 
rhet.    Comp.  on  Micah  v.  1 . 

Ver.  8.  For  thou  hast  plundered  a  miiltitude 
of  nations  (comp.  Micah  iv.  2),  so  all  the  rem- 
nant (v.  2)  of  the  nations  wiU  plunder  thee  :  the 
remnant  of  the  subdued,  i.  e..the  not  subdued,  those 
lately  come  into  existence,  as  e.  g.  the  Persians  (Is 
xiv.).  [Keil,  after  a  labored  exposition,  concludes 
"  From  all  this  wc  may  see  that  there  is  no  neces- 
sity to  explain  '  all  the  remnant  of  the  nations,'  a? 
relating  to  the  remainder  of  the  nations  that  haa 
not  been  subjugated,  but  that  we  may  undersiand 
it  as  signifying  the  remnant  of  the  nations  plun- 
dered and  subjugated  by  the  Chaldseans  (as  is  don* 


CHiVPTERS  I.  12-11.  20. 


25 


oy  the  LXX.,  Theodoret,  Delitzsch,  and  others), 
which  is  the  only  explanation  in  harmony  with  the 
asage  of  the  languas^e.  For  iu  Josh,  xxiii.  12,  ye- 
iher  haggofjim  denotes  the  Canaanitish  nations  left 
after  the  war  of  extermination;  and  in  Zech.  xiv. 
2,  yether  hd'dm  signifies  the  remnant  of  the  nation 
left  after  the  previous  conquest  of  the  city,  and  the 
carrying  away  of  half  its  inhabitants."  —  C.  E.] 
For  the  blood  of  men  (]Q  as  in  Ob.  10)  and 
violence  in  the  earth,  the  city,  and  all  that 
dwell  in  it.  The  same  enumeration  of  everything 
destructible,  as  i.  11  ff.  14  ;  hence  not  to  be  restrict- 
ed to  Jerusalem  and  Israel,  though  specially  in- 
tended, but  to  be  understood  generally,  like  Jer. 
xlvi.  8  [Rawliuson's  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii., 
p.  506.  — C.  E.] 

Vers.  9-11.  Second  Woe.  If  the  Chaldcean  (vers. 
6-8),  according  to  the  connection,  was  the  only 
possible  object,  this  threatening  of  judgment  cer- 
tainly reaches  farther  :  Woe  to  him,  who  accu- 
miilates  wicked  gain  lor  his  house,  who  sets 
his  nest  on  high  (the  iiif  with  7  continues  the  con- 
struction of  the  imperfect,  as  is  frequently  the  case), 
[the  infin.  with  */  is  used  to  explain  more  precisely 
the  idea  expressed  by  the  finite  verb.  Nordheimer's 
Heh.  Gram.,  sec  1020,2.  —  C.  E.]  to  save  him- 
self from  the  hand  of  evil.  The  judgment  of 
God,  proceeding  from  his  holiness,  has  its  source  in 
a  necessity  universally  moral,  and,  on  this  account, 
falls  upon  all  sinners  ;  and  the  description  of  those 
characterized  here  does  not  fit  so  well,  according  to 
the  language  of  proi>hecy,  the  Chaldaeans,  who  in- 
habited a  low  country, —  the  parallel  (Is.  xiv.  12  ff.) 
produced  by  Deiilzsch,  conveys  the  idea  of  heaven- 
defying  pride,  whilst  here  the  prophet  speaks  of 
concealing  treasures,  —  as  it  does  the  Edoraites, 
who  stored  up  their  plunder  in  the  clefts  of  the 
rocks  (Ob.  3. ;  Jer.  xlix.  7  f ).  And  it  applies  just 
as  well  to  the  lich  in  Jerusalem  (comp.  Is.  xxii. 
16  ff.),  and  especially  to  King  Jehoiakim,  whose 
conduct  is  described  in  language  (Jer.  xxii.  13  ff) 
uttered  nearly  at  the  same  time  with  that  of  our 
prophet,  and  in  exactly  similar  modes  of  expression. 
JRawlinson's  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  504. — 
C.  E.] 

Ver.  10  also  applies  to  the  same  person :  Thou 
hast  consulted  shame,  instead  of  riches,  for  thy 
house,  the  house  of  David,  which  was  called  to  a 
position  of  honor  before  God.  And  what  is  the 
shame?  The  ends  of  many  nations,  i.  e.,  the 
collective  multitude  of  peoples  (comp.  1  Kings, 
xii.  31)  which  shall  come  up  like  a  storm  to  take 
vengeance  upon  the  sins  of  Israel,  just  as  the  rem- 
nant of  the  nations  are  at  a  future  time,  to  take 
vengeance  upon  the  sins  of  the  Babylonian.  And 
thou  involvest  thy  soul  in  guilt  (Prov.  xx.  2). 

["  The  ends  of  many  nations,"  by  which  Klei- 
Tiert  renders  CS"!  C^aVniSfJ,  gives  no  intelli- 
gible meaning,  nii^p  is  not  the  plural  of  "^^i^j  hut 

tlie  infinitive  of  i^^rj?  to  cut  off,  destroy.  The  proper 
rendering,  therefore,  is  cutting  off  many  nations.  — 
C.E.I 

Ver.  1 1 .  For  the  stone  cries  out  of  the  wall, 
^il)lt  in  sin,  to  accuse  thee  (Gen.  iv.  10),  and  the 
spar  out  of  the  wood-work  answers  it,  —  agrees 
with  it  in  its  charge  against  thee :  when  the  judg- 
li.tnt  draws  near  they  are  the  accusing  witnesses, 
immediately  joined  to  this  is  — 

The  Third  Woe,  verj.  12-13.  "Woe  to  him  who 
builds  the  fortress  in  blood,  and  founds  the  city 


in  wickedness.  Since  the  prophet  has  not  de- 
nounced punishment  upon  Nebuchadnezzar  for 
building,  but  for  destroying  cities  (i.  11  f ),  we 
must  here  also,  especially  on  comparing  Micah  iii. 
10  and  Jer.  xxii.  13,  understand  the  reference  to 
be  to  the  buildings  of  Jehoiakim.  Behold,  doea 
it  not  come  to  pass  (2  Chron.  xxv.  26)  from  Je- 
hovah of  hosts,  that  the  tribes  weary  them- 
selves,—  either  come  up  on  compulsory  service 
for  the  king,  or  driven  to  Jerusalem  by  the  calam- 
ity of  war  to  work  upon  the  fortifications  (2  Chron. 
xxxii.  4  f  ;  compare  also  Micah  i.  2) — for  the 
fire,  and  the  nations  exhaust  themselves  for 
vanity  P  All  humaTi  wisdom  and  toil  have  no  suc- 
cess, where  Jehovah  does  not  assist  in  building 
(Ps.  cxxvii.  1)  ;  this  applies  to  Israel  (Is.  Ivii.  10; 
xlix.  4  ;  comp.  xl.  28,  30;  Ixv.  23),  as  it  does  to 
Babylon  (.Jer.  Ii.  58).  And  this  vanity  must  be 
made  manifest :  the  works  of  men  must  crumble 
into  the  dust  from  whicli  thev  arose  (comp.  JMicah 
V.  10;  vii.  13). 

For  (ver.  14)  the  earth  shall  be  flill,  but  ol 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  Jehovah,  as  the 
waters  cover  the  bed  of  the  sea.  So  God  him- 
self has  promised  by  Isaiah  (xi.  9  ;  comp.  ii.  3). 
This  glory  is  the  resplendent  majesty  of  the  Ruler 
of  the  world  coming  to  judgment  against  all  un- 
godliness, and  for  the  accomplishment  of  salvation 
(Num.  xiv.  21;  Ps.  xcvii. ;  Zech.  ii.  12).  This 
knowledge  comprehends,  at  the  same  time,  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  Jehovah  and  the  confession  o{ 
sin.  sbo  is  not  construed  as  usual  with  the  ace. 
of  the  subst.,  but  with  v  and  the  infinitive.  To 
analyze  the  last  clause  into  a  noun  with  a  following 
7'elative  clause  is  unnecessary  :  3  can  also  be  used 
(which  Ewald  and  Keil  deny)  as  a  particle  of 
comparison  before  whole  sentences  (Hupfeld, 
Psalms,  ii.  p.  327  A.  99).  □"*  does  not  mean  here 
the  sea  itself,  but  the  bed,  or  bottom  of  the  sea,  aa 
in  1  Kings  vii.  26.  With  the  general  thought  which 
ver.  13  f  adds  to  the  special  turns  [of  thought] 
there  is  a  return  to  the  ])unishment  of  heathen 
wrong-doers.    Upon  them  falls  exclusively  — 

The  Fourth  Woe,  vers.  15-18,  which  also  directly 
introduces  again  some  enigmatical  sounds  of  the 
first.  Woe  to  thee  [so  Kleinert  and  Luther :  the 
LXX.,  Vulgate,  A.  V.,  Keil,  and  Henderson,  use 
the  third  person,  ime  tn  him  —  C.  E.]  that  givest 
thy  neighbor  to  drink  —  whilst  thou  pourest 
out  (nSD,  as  in  Job  xiv.  19 ;  synonymous  with 
TJSti?,  Jer.  X.  25,)  thy  wrath  [or  thy  leathern 
bottle,  Aben  Ezra,  Kimchi,  Hitzig  (Gen.  xxi.  14) ; 
perhaps  as  the  whole  address  directs  ns  back  to 
ver.  6  ff.,  there  is  again  here  also  an  intentional 
ambiguity]  and  also  makest  him  (thy  neighbor) 
drunk  (inf  abs.  pro  v.  fin.,  Ges.,  sec.  131,  4  a.) 
in  order  to  see  their  shame  ;  to  make  it  wholly 
subservient  to  his  voluptuous  desire  (Nah.  iii.  5). 
[In  place  of  the  third  person  in  the  first  member, 
the  address  changes,  in  the  second  member,  to  the 
second  person ;  in  the  fourth  member  the  singu- 
lar is  changed  into  the  plural.  Both  the  middle 
clauses  are  adverbial  to  the  HpICD  of  the  first 
member] .  The  figure  is  taken  from  common  life, 
and  is  clear  of  itself;  it  is  the  more  appropriate 
as  the  Chaldaean  is  described  (ver.  5)  as  a  drunk- 
ard. The  leathern  bottle,  from  which  the  Chal 
daean  pours  out  his  compacts  (comp.  Is.  xxxix.) 
is,  as  it  turns  out  in  the  end,  a  bottle  of  wrath 
and  the  disposition  in  which  it  is  passed  is  that  of 
wild  desire  aTid  barbarous  lust  of  power.  Ther« 
fore  the  same  comes  noon  him. 


2G 


HABAKKUK. 


Ver.  16.  So  thou  shalt  be  satisfied,  as  thou 
desirest,  but  with,  shame  instead  of  glory.  Drink 
thou  also  (comp.  Nah.  iii.  1 1 )  and  uncover  thy- 
self [Heb.  :  show  thyself  unciicuiiicised  —  C.  E.]  : 
frocQ  Jehovah's  right  hand  the  cup,  also  a  cup 
of  wrath  (comp.  Ob.  16)  will  come  in  its  turn 
to  thee,  and  shameful  vomit  upon  thy  glory. 
fRawlinson's  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  .504. — 

C.  E.]   ]1  '|7*~,  accordins:  to  the  Pilpel  derivation 

from  ^^P  instead  of  ]  wp 7i7i  signifies  the  most 
extreme  contempt ;  but  it  can,  at  the  same  time, 
be  considered  as  a  composite  word  from  livp  S'^p, 
vomit  of  shame,  or  shameful  vomit  (comp.  Is. 
xxviii.  8)  referring  to  the  figurative  description  of 
the  drinking  revel. 

Ver.  15.  For  the  outrage  at  Lebanon,  whose 
cedar  forests  the  conquerors  wickedly  spoiled,  in 
order  to  adorn  ;vith  them  their  magnificent  edifices 
in  Babylon  (Is.  xiv.  7  ft".;  comp.  Ausland,  1866, 
p.  944),  shall  cover  thee,  shall  weigh  upon  thee 
like  a  crushing  roof,  and  the  dispersion  of  the 
animals,  which  it,  the  outrage,  frightened  away ! 
The  wild  beasts  of  Lebanon,  which  fled  before  the 

destroyer.  (^n^rT^,  instead  of  1j7'i7'!  compensation 
for  the  sharpening  by  lengthening  the  vowel,  Ges., 
20,  3  c.  Rem.,  and  pausal  change  of  the  ~into~  , 
Ges.,  sec.  29,  4,  c.  Rem.).  [See  Green's  Heb.  Gram., 
sec.  112,  5  c;  141,  3.  —  0.  E.]  And  as  Lebanon 
vfith  its  cedars  (Jer.  xxii.  6,  23),  appears  to  be  a 
representative  of  the  Holy  Land  and  its  glory,  so 
here  also  a  general  meaning  is  given  to  the  outrage 
upon  inanimate  nature  by  the  repetition  of  the  re- 
frain from  the  first  woe,  ver.  8  :  On  account  of 
the  blood  of  men,  the  oiitrage  upon  the  land, 
the  city  and  all  its  inhabitants.  However,  the 
obvious  reference  to  Israel  and  Jerusalem,  in  this 
passage,  is  made,  by  the  connection,  more  dis- 
tinctly prominent  than  in  ver.  8,  above. 

Ver.  18,  according  to  the  thought,  is  preliminary 
to  the  following  woe  ;  just  as  we  saw  above  that 
ver.  11  was  preliminary  to  the  third  woe,  and  ver. 
13  to  the  fourth.  "What  proflteth  the  graven 
image,  that  its  maker  carves  it  ?  HO  is  used 
sensu  negativo,  as  in  Eccles.  i.  3  ;  and  since  it  re- 
quires a  negative  answer,  the  secondary  clause  in- 
troduced into  the  rhetorical  question  by  '^^  is  also 
answered  thereby  in  the  negative  :  quid,  cur  ?  It 
profits  nothing  (Jer.  ii.  II),  consequently  it  is  folly 
to  carve  it.  Parallel  to  this  is  the  following  clause  : 
what  profiteth  the  molten  image  and  the  teacher 
of  lies,  i.  e.,  either  the  false  prophet,  who  enjoins 
men  to  trust  in  idols,  and  encourages  the  manu- 
facture of  them  (Is.  ix.  14  [15?]),  or  rather,  ac- 
cording lo  the  n~lV  in  the  following  verse,  the 
idol  itself,  which  points  out  false  ways  in  oppo- 
sition to  God,  the  true  teacher  (Job  xxxvi.  22  ;  Ps. 
XV.  12;  Delitzsch,  Hitzig),  That  the  carver  of 
his  image  trusts  in  him  to  make  dumb  idols  ? 
(Ps.  cxxxv.  16  f  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  2.)  The  negative  an- 
swer to  this  rhetorical  question  is  given  by  — 

The  Fifth  Woe.  which  is  immediately  subjoined, 
vers.  19,  20 :  "Woe  to  him,  who  says  to  the 
block,  wake  up!  as  the  pious  man  can  pray  to  the 
true  God  (Ps.  xxxv.  12  [23] )  ;  arise  !  to  the  dumb 
stone.  Can  it  teach  ?  To  teach  is  used  here,  as 
in  the  former  ver.'e  .and  generally,  to  signify  that 
active  guidance  and  advice,  which  belong  to  the 
Deity  in  contradistinction  to  men,  and  which  form 
(he  basis  of  practical  j)iety.  Concerning  the  form 
jf  the  in<lifjnant  question,  compare  [Com.]  on  Mic, 
ii.  6.     Behold  it  is  enchased  with  gold  and  sil- 


ver (Ace.)  and  there  is  nothing  of  soul,  neither 
breath,  nor  feeling,  nor  understanding,  in  it, 
(Com.  Ps.  cxxxv.  17).  However  fine  it  is,  it  does 
not  even  have  life  (comp.  Jer.  x.  14)  :  how  can  it 
teach!  Compare  the  amplific«,tion  of  the  sam< 
thought,  Is.  xliv.  9  ff. 

The  whole  threatening  address  concludes  with 
the  prophetical  formula  :  Jehovah  is  in  the  tem- 
ple of  his  holiness,  i.  e.  according  to  Ps.  xi.  4 
compare  xx.  7  [6],  heaven,  from  which,  as  thesitu 
ation  now  stands  and  as  the -woes  about  to  past 
over  the  earth  are  anticipated,  we  are  to  expect  hii 
judgment,  i.  e.  the  confirmation  that  He  will  giv< 
to  show  that  He  is  the  Holy  One  (comp.  Ps.  xviii 
7  fT.  ;  Is.  V.  16).  Therefore,  —  compare  the  en- 
tirely similar  connection  of  thought  Zeph.  i.  7  ; 
Zecli.  ii,  13  [Heb.  Bib.  ver.  17]:  —  Let  all  the 
world  be  silent  before  Him. 

[Keil:  Vers.  18-20.  Fifth  and  last  strophe. 
This  concluding  strophe  does  not  commence,  like 
the  preceding  ones,  with  hoi,  but  with  the  thought 
which  prepares  the  way  for  the  woe,  and  is  attached 
to  what  goes  before  to  strengthen  the  threat,  all 
hope  of  help  being  cut  ofif  from  the  Chaldaan. 
Like  all  the  rest  of  the  heathen,  the  Chaldaaan  also 
trusted  in  the  power  of  his  gods.  This  confidence 
the  prophet  overthrows  in  ver.  18  :  "  What  use  is 
if?"  equivalent  to  "The  idol  is  of  no  use"  (cf. 
Jer.  ii.  11  ;  Is.  xliv.  9,  10).  The  force  of  this  ques- 
tion still  continues  in  massekhah :  "  Of  what  use  is 
the  molten  image  ?  "  Pesel  is  an  image  carved  out 
of  wood  or  stone ;  massekdh  an  image  cast  in  metal. 
—  C.  E.] 

DOCTRINAL  AND   ETHICAL. 

The  sjjhere  of  thought  of  this  chapter  rests  upon 
the  two  intersecting  ground-lines,  sin  and  death, 
faith  and  life.  (Compare  on  the  idea  of  faith  the 
Exegetical  Exposition  of  ii.  4.) 

Sin  and  death  belong  together :  sin  is  the  ethical, 
death  the  ])hysicai  expres.sion  of  separation  from 
God.  Therefore  the  people  of  God  cannot  die, 
because  He  is  their  Holy  One ;  because  by  virtue 
of  their  belonging  to  the  Holy  One  they  drink 
from  the  fountain  of  life.  Therefore  to  Israel  God's 
judgments  are  a  means  of  purification,  while  they 
are  destruction  to  others.  And  if  God,  who  is  a 
Rock,  has  such  a  hatred  against  sin,  that  he  does 
not  suffer  it  in  his  people  [heiJiqrv  Figenthum,  sa- 
cred property]  chosen  of  old  (comp.  Com.  on  Micah, 
p.  00),  and  brings  upon  it  the  scourge  of  his  judg- 
ment, how  much  less  will  He  suffer  it  in  him  who 
is  a  stranger  to  his  heart,  and  whom  He  employs 
only  as  an  instrument  of  his  judgment.  From 
the  consideration  that  God  judges  Israel  follows 
the  certainty  that  He  will  judge  the  heathen  also, 
consequently  the  certainty  that  Israel  will  be 
saved. 

The  sin  of  the  world-power  is  two-fcld  ;  first,  it 
deals  with  the  ]>roperty  of  God  as  if  it  were  its 
own  ;  secondly,  it  does  not  honor  God  for  the  sue 
cess  granted  to  it,  but  its  own  power.  T>  is  must 
cease. 

The  countenance  of  fnith  is  directed  forward  ■ 
into  the  future.  Thence  it  derives  its  answer  for 
consolation  and  hope.  (Of  course  it  would  not 
have  this  direction  if  it  haxl  not  the  promise  of  God 
behind  it  (Gen.  xlix.  18)  ;  God  is,  however,  always 
the  author :  He  is  of  old  the  Holy  One  of  his  peo- 
ple.). When  Israel  forgat  the  promise,  they  began 
to  look  back  to  the  flesh  pots  of  Egypt.  The 
whole  religion  of  the  O.  T.  is  a  religion  of  th« 
future.     Heathendom  exercised  its  intellectual  en 


CHAPTERS  I.  I2-II.  20. 


27 


STgy  upon  the  origins  of  things  for  the  purpose  of 
Arming  and  developing  their  theogonies  :  the  Holy 
Spirit  directs  the  mind  of  Israel  to  prophecy :  no 
ancient  people  has  so  little  about  the  primitive  time 
as  we  find  in  the  0.  T. ;  even  modern  heathendom 
knows  [professes  to  know|  much  more  about  it. 
The  exact  time  is  not  specified  in  prophecy,  at 
least  in  regard  to  the  intermediate  steps  (i.  5)  ; 
but  the  lertiinty  is  >pecilied,  and  the  exact  time 
is  tixtd  ill  th-'  purpose  of  God.  God  can  no  more 
lie  than  Qe  can  look  upon  iniquity.  The  cer- 
tainty of  prophecy,  and  consequently  of  our  con- 
fidence, rests  upon  the  holiness  of  God.  How  dif- 
ferent is  the  resignation  of  the  O.  T.  fi"om  fatalism. 
The  former  comes  from  life,  the  latter  from  death. 
Resignation  places  the  holiness  of  God  in  the  cen- 
tre :  fatalism  destroys  it. 

God's  way  is  the  right  way.  He  hates  all  crooked 
lines,  — the  side-lines  of  sophistry,  the  curve-lines 
of  boasting,  the  downward  sunk  lines  of  dark  con- 
cealment. Sin  is  deviation  from  the  straight  way. 
The  straight  way  is  the  way  of  life. 

The  piety  of  the  Old  Testament  begins  with 
faith  (Gen.  xv.  4  [6]).  The  stage  of  the  law  ea- 
ters, which  gives  the  uppermost  place  to  faith  in 
action,  the  obedience  of  faith,  and  which,  with  the 
apparent  extension  of  the  principle  of  faith,  involves 
in  fact  a  narrowing  of  it.  In  prophecy  the  orig- 
inal principle,  in  its  universality,  enters  again  grad- 
ually into  its  right  position.  The  book  of  Job  may 
be  mentioned  as  a  proof  of  this.  The  obedience  of 
the  law  td=  I'ur  it?  correlative  the  doctrine  of  retri- 
bution. On  this  Job  is  put  to  shame.  Agamst  it 
he  has  no  sufficient  answer.  But  because  his  heart, 
in  every  trial,  maintained  its  faith  in  God,  he  is 
nevertheless  justified.  The  book  of  Job  is  the  ex- 
position of  Plab.  ii.  4.  Eaith  is  the  direct  way  to 
the  heart  of  God.  He  who  interposes  himself  (his 
own  works,  his  own  merits,  his  own  law,  his  own 
thoughts)  perverts  the  way.  Apostasy  from  faith 
is  the  beginning  of  sin.  In  the  heart  of  God  is 
imperishable  life,  because  there  is  imperishable  holi- 
ness. Therefore  the  faith  of  Israel  is  the  correla- 
tive of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel ;  and  faith  is  the 
way  to  life,  as  sin  is  the  way  to  death. 

The  characteristic  mark  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  free-will.  The  world-power  raffs  men  together  ; 
they  are  invited  into  the  kingdom  of  God ;  they 
rise  and  say :  Come,  let  us  go.  The  coge  intrare  is 
contrary  to  the  Scripture.  (The prohibe  of  the  en- 
emies of  missions  is  just  as  truly  so.  Is.  xlix.  6.) 
He  who  thus  gathers  [menj  together,  brings  upon 
himself  scorn  at  last.  All  nations,  which  Rome 
has  conveitcd  Ly  force,  have  fallen  away  from  her, 
and  they  sing  over  her  a  song  of  derision. 

Property  is  sanctified  by  God  ;  but  over-grasp- 
ing gain  is  cursed  by  Him.  His  omniscience  is 
present  in  his  judgment.  Hidden  crime  is  laid 
open  and  punished,  as  if  blood,  spar,  and  stones 
had  speech  to  inform  against  what  is  concealed  be- 
hind them,  the  guilt  that  is  built  up  in  them.  We 
see  in  the  manner  in  which  no  concealed  wicked- 
ness remains  unpunished,  but  is  banished  out  of 
sight,  the  hand  of  God  and  the  manifestation  of 
his  glory  on  every  side,  without  seeing  himself. 
The  pillar  of  smoke  and  of  fire  over  the  burned 
city  of  sin  is  the  veil  of  his  glory.  The  design  of 
the  creation,  according  to  the  O.  T.,  is  the  glory 
of  Gk)d.  For  this  the  earth  was  made,  just  as  the 
basin  of  the  sea  was  made  for  the  water. 

The  sinner  does  not  find  the  right  way :  he  is 
like  a  drunken  man.  To  the  upright  man  the  ways 
of  sinners  are  a  reeling  [an  intoxication].  He  who 
leads  astray  makes  drunk ;  but  he  enters  of  him- 


self upon  the  most  crooked  way,  and  hence  comei 
to  destruction.  The  intoxication  of  sin  cnlminatea 
in  the  insanity  of  idolatry.  The  idol  is  lifeless. 
Its  worshipper  seeks  by  idolatry,  as  the  righteous 
man  does  by  faith,  the  way  of  life  ;  but  he  comes 
to  the  silence  of  death.  The  tranquillity  of  life  is 
quite  another  thing.  (Is.  xxx.  15.) 

Oetingek  :  Rectitude  of  heart  is  the  substance 
and  ground  of  truth.  He  who  has  a  right  heart, 
sees  rightly  and  hears  rightly ;  he  who  has  a  per- 
verse heart  heaps  up  falsehood,  without  knowing 
it.  Nature  produces  all  the  elements  at  once :  the 
upright  soul  attracts  to  it  what  is  true  and  honest. 
Intensiveness  precedes  extensiveness :  the  moral 
precedes  the  physical ;  the  physical,  the  metaphys- 
ical. 

R.  Joseph  Albo  (in  Starke  and  Delitzsch) :  in 
the  book  of  Chronicles  it  is  said :  believe  in  the  proph- 
ets, and  ye  siiall  be  prosperous  (2  Chron.  xx.  20). 
This  proves  that  faith  is  the  cause  of  prosperity, 
as  well  as  the  cause  of  eternal  life,  according  to  the 
saying  of  Habakkuk :  the  just  shall  live  by  his 
feith ;  by  which  he  cannot  mean  the  bodily  life, 
since  in  respect  to  this  the  righteous  man  has  no 
advantage  over  the  wicked,  but  rather  the  eternal 
life,  the  life  of  the  soul,  which  the  righteous  enjoy, 
and  for  the  attainment  of  which  they  trust  in  God, 
as  it  is  said :  The  righteous  has  still  confidence  in 
death  [A.  V. :  The  righteous  hath  hope  in  his 
death].     (Prov.  xiv.  32.) 

W.  Hoffmann  :  Abraham  had  a  view  [aus- 
schau,  outlook]  through  the  promise,  in  'ivhich,  at 
last,  every  streak  of  shadow  vanished,  and  in  the 
distant  horizon  all  was  light  and  glory.  He  looked 
beyond  this  world  to  the  blessed  rest  of  the  people 
of  God  ;  and  he  could  not  do  otherwise  than  this, 
since  he  acknowledged  God  as  the  restorer  of  the 
life  of  men,  of  his  own  life,  and  of  the  life  of  all  hia 
descendants  and  tribes,  —  a  life  perverted  to  sin, 
fallen,  and  burdened  with  the  curse.  It  is  very 
likely  that  the  thoughts  of  the  father  of  the  faith- 
ful were  dark  and  obscure  in  regard  to  this,  for 
it  required  yet  great  advancement  before  clear 
language  could  be  employed  concerning  this  holy 
change ;  but  the  heart's  experience,  which  he  en- 
joyed of  it,  was  full  and  steadfast.  Restoration 
of  the  lost,  removal  of  sin,  deliverance  from  spirit- 
ual death  —  that  is  the  key-note  of  Abraham's 
faith.  And  it  was  deliverance  only  by  the  mani- 
festation of  God.  It  was  this  manifestation  to 
which  all  the  revelations  of  God  at  that  time  re- 
lated. God's  nearness,  His  dwelling  with  the  chil- 
dren of  men ;  this  was  the  goal ;  hope  could  fasten 
upon  no  other.  What  eLe,  therefore,  was  his  faith 
than  —  although  not  consciously  clear  and  grasped 
by  the  tmderstanding  —  a  laying  hold  upon  the 
fiiture  Saviour  with  outstretched  arms  1 

Delitzsch  :  Troublous  times  are  at  hand. 
What  then  is  more  consoling  than  the  fact,  that 
life,  deliverance  from  destruction,  is  awarded  to  that 
faith,  which  truly  rests  on  God,  keeps  fast  hold  of 
the  word  of  promise,  and  in  the  midst  of  tribalv 
tion  confidently  waits  for  its  fulfillment  ?  Not  the 
veracity,  the  trustworthiness,  the  honesty  of  the 
righteous  man,  considered  in  themselves  as  virtues, 
are,  in  such  calamities,  in  danger  of  being  shaken 
and  of  failing,  but,  as  is  shown  in  the  prophet 
himself,  his  faith.  Therefore,  the  great  promise, 
expressed  in  the  one  word,  Life,  is  connected  with 
it. 

ScHMiEDER :  All  Bible  prophecy  looks  forward 
to  a  distant  time  determined  by  God,  but  whicli 
we  do  not  know.  It  points  to  the  end,  when  the 
Lord  by  judgment  and  redemption  shall  cstablisb 


28 


HABAKKUK. 


his  perfect  kingdom.  This  prophecy  will  not  lie, 
but  will  certixinly  be  fulfilled,  though  its  fulfillment 
is  always  longer  and  longer  deferred. 


HOMILBTICAL. 

Chap.  i.  ver.  12.  Of  the  great  joy,  which  we  have 
reason  to  ground  upon  the  fact,  that  God  is  the  Holy 
One  of  his  people. 

1.  It  is  ii  joy  of  gratitude  that  He  has  alwa3's 
been  with  his  own.     Ver.  12  a,  b. 

2.  A  joy  of  continual  confidence,  that  we  can- 
not perish.     Ver.  12  c. 

3.  A  joy  in  chastisement,  that  it  is  only  for  the 
confirmation  of  his  holiness,  and  for  our  purifica- 
tion.    Ver.  12  d,  e. 

Chap.  i.  vers.  13-17  :  There  is  a  limit  set  to  the 
power  of  the  wicked  upon  earth.     For  — 

1.  God  is  holy.     Ver.  13  a,  b. 

2.  But  the  work  of  the  wicked  is  unholy.   For  — 

(a)  It  is  a  work  of  hatred  against  the  righteous. 
Ver.  13  c,  d. 

(b)  It  is  an  abuse  of  the  powers  bestowed  bj- 
God.     Ver.  14. 

(c)  It  does  nothing  for  God,  but  everything  for 
itself.     Ver.  15. 

(d)  It  does  not  give  God  honor,  but  It  makes 
itself  an  idol.     Ver.  16. 

3.  Therefore  it  must  have  an  end.     Ver.  17. 
Chap.  ii.  vers.  1-4.     The  way  of  patience  (compare 

H.  Miiller,  Erquickstunden,  Nr.  97). 

1.  I  must  suffer,  for  God's  judgments  and  puri- 
fications are  necessary.  Ver.  1  in  connection  with 
chap.  i. 

2  I  can  suffer ;  for  God's  Word  sustains  me. 
Vers.  2,  3. 

3.  I  will  suffer,  for  I  believe.     Ver.  4. 

Or:  Persevere,  for  the  redemption  draws  nir/h. 
(Advent-sermon). 

1.  The  manner  of  perseverance:  confidence. 
Ver.  1. 

2.  The  ground  of  perseverance :  the  promise. 
Vers.  2,  3. 

3.  The  power  [Kraft,  active  power,  or  cause] 
of  perseverance  :  faith.     Ver.  4. 

Chap.  i.  12-ii.  4.     Israel's  life  of  promise. 

1 .  A  believing  retrospect  into  the  past. 

2.  A  believing  look  into  the  future. 

Chap.  ii.  vers.  5-20.  Of  shameful  and  hurtful 
avarice. 

1 .  Avarice  is  contrary  to  the  order  prescribed 
by  God  ;  therefore  God  must  bring  it  back  to  or- 
der by  chastisement.     Vers.  1,  6  b,  7. 

2.  It  is  contrary  to  love,  therefore,  it  produces 
a  harvest  of  hatred.     Ver.  fi  a. 

3.  It  confounds  the  ideas  of  right,  therefore 
wrong  must  befall  it.     Ver.  8  a. 

4.  It  makes  the  mind  timid ;  but  where  fear  is 
there  is  no  stability.     Ver.  9. 

5.  It  accumulates  [riches]  with  sin,  therefore 
for  nothing.     Vers.  12,  11,  13,  17. 

6.  It  seeks  false  honor,  therefore  it  acquires 
shame.     Vers.  15,  16. 

7.  It  sets  its  heart  upon  gold  and  silver  and  life- 
less things,  therefore  it  must  perish  with  its  lifeless 
gods.     Vers.  18,  19. 

8.  On  the  whole,  it  provokes  the  judgment  of 
God.     Vers.  8  b,  14,  20. 

On  chap.  i.  12.  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Shem,  the 
(iod  of  Abraham,  of  Israel  nnd  of  Jacob,  is  not  a 
God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living.  He  is  a  rock : 
he  who  stands  upon  Him  stands  firm  ;  he  who  falls 
3f>«^n  Him  is  crushed.     Everything  that  (5od  does 


takes  place  for  the  instruction  of  him,  who  conse 
crates  himself  to  Him.  The  best  way  through  the 
afflictive  dispensations  ot  God,  is  not  to  ask :  How 
shall  I  adjust  thorn  to  my  mind  ?  But  how  shall 
I  make  them  productive  of  my  improvement  ?  — 
Ver.  13.  There  is  an  inability,  which  is  no  want 
of  freedom,  but  which  is  the  highest  freedom  ;  and 
there  is  an  ability,  which  is  not  freedom,  but  the 
deepest  bondage.  Matt.  iv.  9.  There  is  not  ona 
absolutely  righteous  man,  but  there  are  relatively 
more  righteous  men  ;  the  judgment  of  God  has  re- 
spect to  this  fact.  —  Ver. "14  f.  Man  was  made  lord 
over  the  beasts.  God  indeed  permits  men  to  bu 
treated  sometimes  like  beasts,  but  he  who  does  it 
commits  sin  by  it ;  and  his  insolence  will  be  cnangei! 
to  lamentation.  —  Ver.  16.  The  sinner  perverts  and 
vitiates  the  holiest  thing  in  man,  the  necessity  of 
worship.  Everything  is  a  snare  to  him,  who  for- 
sakes God.  —  Ver.  17.  Everything  continues  its 
time.     Eccles.  3. 

Chap.  ii.  1.  Although  we  have  the  Holy  Spirit 
as  a  permanent  possession  of  the  Church,  and  are 
no  longer  referred,  like  the  prophets,  to  separate  acts 
of  enlightenment,  nevertheless  the  answers  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  do  not  come  to  us  without  prayer,  and 
jiatience  and  quiet  waiting.  —  Ver.  2.  Everything 
that  is  necessary  to  know  in  order  to  salvation,  is 
SI  I  plainly  written  in  the  Scriptures,  that  even  one 
who  only  looks  at  it  hastily,  in  passing,  cannot 
say  that  he  may  not  have  understood  it.  —  Ver.  3. 
It  is  a  great  consolation  to  know  that  there  is  One 
who  cannot  lie.  Ps.  cxvi.  1 1 .  God's  time  is  the 
very  best  time.  We  should  not  measure  God's 
ways  by  our  thoughts,  nor  the  periods  of  eternity 
by  our  hours ;  but  we  should  measure  our  ways  by 
God's  Word.  —  Ver.  4.  Take  heed  that  thou  think 
not  of  thyself  more  than  it  is  proper  for  thee  to 
think.  In  humility  there  is  power.  Matt.  xv.  28. 
Where  there  is  no  faith  there  is  no  righteousness. 
The  prophet  considers  faith  to  be  a  self-evident  pos- 
session of  the  righteous  man.  Life  is  the  richest 
idea  in  the  Scriptures.  It  is  a  great  consolation  to 
be  able  to  say  to  the  enemy,  rage  on  ;  thou  canst 
not  do  more  to  me  than  God  has  bidden  thee,  nor 
more  than  what  is  useful  to  me ;  and  thy  time  is 
already  measured.  —  Ver.  5.  Tho  intemperate  are 
generally  also  vain-glorious.  Both  lead  to  destruc- 
tion. Only  a  clear  and  sober  eye  finds  the  right 
way.  There  are  many  things  which  intoxicate. 
One  can  be  intoxicated  with  honor,  and  another 
with  hatred  against  honor.  One  can  be  intoxicated 
with  science,  and  another  with  hatred  against 
science.  All  partisan  disposition  is  an  intoxicatini; 
wine.  Desire  is  insatiable  :  therein  lies  its  destna- 
tion  :  it  devours  that,  which  produces  its  death.  — 
Ver.  6.  It  is  a  miserable  feeling  for  fallen  great- 
ness to  be  derided  by  those  hitherto  despised.  He 
who  gathers  what  is  not  his  own  does  not  gather 
it  for  himself  This  also  cannot  continue  long. 
Dignities  are  burdens  [  Wiirden  sind  Burden,  Prov, 
=  the  more  worship,  the  moi-e  cost  —  C.  E.J  dig 
nities  fraudulently  obtained  are  burdens.  —  Ver.  7 
It  is  by  [divine]  ordination,  when  he,  whom  God 
intends  to  judge,  nurses  in  his  own  bosom  the 
.serpent,  which  is  to  sting  him.  So  itwis-i  with 
Nineveh.  Thereby  too  [i.  e.,  by  the  same  appoint- 
ment :  darin  refers  to  Verh&ngniss ;  see  Acts  ii.  23  — 
C.  E.]  Christ  took  upon  himself  the  heaviest  judg- 
ment of  sin. —  Ver.  8.  The  whole  world  become* 
silent  only  before  God.  For  all  others  there  is  a 
remnant  of  those,  who  have  not  bpcn  subdued,  by 
whom  they  come  to  ruin.  For  tlui-e,  who  are  nol 
able  to  stay  their  hearts  by  faith  in  (Jod,  the  doc- 
trine of  retribution  taught  in  the  law  remains  ir 


CHAPTERS  I.  12-11.  20. 


29 


full  power.  They  have  no  desire  lo  choose  the  grace, 
therefore  wrath  abides  upon  them.  God  takes  care 
of  each  individual,  and  will  require  each  and  every 
abused  and  ruined  soul  from  the  destroyer.  —  Ver.  9. 
Flee  a*?  h  gh  as  you  may,  God  is  always  still  higher. 
What  profit  is  there  in  all  the  prudence  and  in 
all  the  gain  of  the  world,  if  the  soul  is  a  loser  by 
them? — Ver.  11.  God  has  his  witnesses  every- 
where. "  If  these  are  silent,  the  stones  will  cry 
out."  The  blood  of  Abel  cries  from  the  earth, 
and  the  thorns  and  thistles  in  the  held  speak  of 
Gen.  iii. —  Ver.  12.  There  is  a  building  which  de- 
stroys ;  and  a  destroying  which  builds. —  Ver.  13. 
The  blessing,  or  the  curse,  upon  any  Avork,  comes 
after  all,  hnally,  only  from  above.  Nothing  can 
hinder  the  purposes  of  God  concerning  the  world.  — 
Ver.  15  f.  The  career  of  a  great  conqueror  has 
something  intoxicating.  Before  Napoleon  not  only 
degraded  men  became  idolaters.  There  is  a  witch- 
craft in  it.  (Comp.  i.  12  with  the  Introduction  to 
the  book  of  Job. )  This  comes  hnally  to  light,  when 
God  judges  it,  and  bitter  sobering  follows  the  in- 
toxication :  men  then  have  a  horror  of  the  human 
greatness  before  which  they  bowed.  —  Ver.  18. 
There  is  also  in  idolatry  a  kind  of  intoxication. 
The  sober  questions :  What  proHteth  the  image'? 
How  can  it  govern  ?  guide  1  teach  ?  do  not  occur 
to  the  minds  of  the  worshippers  of  idols.  A  god 
that  cannot  speak  is  nothing.  Without  the  Word 
of  God  there  is  no  religion.  Him,  who  is  not  silent 
before  Jehovah  from  submission  and  faith,  God's 
judgments  must  make  silent. 

Ldtiier  :  Chap.  i.  ver.  12.  The  prophet  calls 
God  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  because  they  were  holy 
through  their  God  and  by  nothing  else.  And  truly 
from  all  eternity  God  is  a  Holy  One.  For  it  gives 
great  courage,  when  we  know  and  firmly  believe  that 
we  have  a  God  ;  that  He  is  our  God,  our  Holy  One, 
and  that  He  is  on  our  side.  —  Ver.  13.  With  these 
words  Habakkuk  shows  what  thoughts  occur  to 
wrestling  faith,  which  holds  that  God  is  just ;  but 
He  delays  so  long,  and  looks  on  the  wicked,  that 
one  might  almost  think  that  He  may  not  be  just, 
but  may  have  pleasure  in  evil  men.  It  is  a  source 
of  excessive  grief  that  the  unrighteous  should  be 
successful  so  long  anfl  acquire  such  great  prosper- 
ity, though  with  calamity.  But  their  success  is  per- 
mitted, in  order  that  our  faith,  having  been  well 
tried,  may  become  strong  and  abundant  in  God. 
And  yet  this  is  not  grievous  beyond  measure,  when 
a  prophet  stands  by  himself  in  such  a  conflict  of 
faith ;  but  when  he  stands  in  his  official  capacity  and 
is  to  console  and  preserve  an  entire  nation  with  him, 
then  it  is  trouble,  misery,  and  distress.  Then  the 
people  kick,  and  there  are  scarcely  two  or  three  in 
the  whole  mass,  who  believe  and  strugt^le  with  him. 
—  Chap.  ii.  ver.  1.  Such  words  as  the  following  will 
become  the  common  cry  :  Fray,  where  are  now  the 
prophets,  who  promised  us  salvation  ?  What  fine 
fools  they  have  made  of  us.  Believe,  Avhoever  will, 
that  it  will  come  to  pass.  Thus  does  reason  behave, 
when  God  fulfills  his  Word  in  another  way  than  it 
has  imagined.  It  is  also  the  case  then  that  one 
will  not  believe  God  at  any  time.  Does  He  threat- 
en 'f  Then  the  present  prosperity  hinders  us  [from 
believing].  Does  He  promise  grace  ?  Then  the 
present  calamity  hinders  us.  Then  the  prophets 
first  of  all  endeavor  to  labor  with  the  unbeliev- 
ing, fiiint-hearted  people.  Therefore  I  stand,  says 
the  prophet,  as  one  upon  a  tower,  and  contend 
strongly  and  firmly  for  the  weak  in  faith  against 
he  unbelieving.  —  Ver.  4.  Some  take  up  the  Jew- 
ish objection,  pretend  to  be  wise,  and  pass  judg- 
xaent  upon  Paul,  as  if  he  had  dragged  in  Habak- 


kuk unfairly  and  forcibly  by  the  hair,  since  Hab- 
akkuk speaks  of  his  table,  and  not  of  the  Gospel. 
Though  this  table  also  speaks  of  the  Gospel,  ye* 
it  speaks  of  it  as  future,  while  Paul  speaks  of  the 
present  Gospel.  It  is,  however,  the  same  Gospel, 
which  was  then  future  and  which  has  come,  just 
as  Christ  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever 
(Heb.  xiii.  S),  although  He  is  announced  in  a  dif- 
ferent way  before  and  after  his  coming.  But  that 
is  a  matter  of  no  importance  ;  it  is  nevertheless  the 
same  faith  and  spirit.  The  truth,  which  one  has 
ill  his  heart,  is  called  Emunah  [firmness,  stability, 
faithfulness,  fidelity],  and  by  that  he  clings  to  the 
truth  and  fidelity  of  another.  Now  I  let  it  pass, 
whoever  may  be  disposed  to  quarrel  about  it,  that 
he  who  has  the  feeling  in  his  heart  which  cleaves 
to  another  as  faithful  and  true,  and  depends  upon 
him,  may  call  it  truth,  or  what  he  will;  but  Paul 
and  we  do  not  know  any  other  name  for  such  a 
disposition  than  faith. —  Ver.  11.  Not  only  his  ed- 
ifice, but  also  tlie  wide  world,  becomes  too  narrow 
for  him  who  has  a  timid,  desponding  heart,  and 
when  a  pillar  or  a  beam  cracks  in  his  house  he  is 
terrified.  Therefore  princes  and  nobles,  if  they 
would  build  durably,  should  see  to  it  that  thev  lav 
a  right  good  foimdation,  that  is,  they  shoula  first 
pray  to  God  for  heart  and  courage,  which  in  thfc 
time  of  trouble  may  be  able  to  preserve  the  building. 
But  if  no  care  is  bestowed  to  acquire  this  courage 
[den  AJuth,  by  which  Luther  means  faith,  or  the 
courage  inspired  by  it  —  C.  E.],  but  only  wood  an«! 
stone  are  reared  up,  it  [the  building]  must  finaljy, 
when  the  time  comes,  perish,  as  is  here  recorded. 

Starkk  :  Chap  i.  ver.  12.  One  can  certainly  prav 
to  God  for  a  mitigation,  but  not  for  an  entire  a vert- 
ingof  all  punishment. — Vers.  17.  PlusiUtra,  always 
onward,  is  the  maxim  of  heroes ;  how  much  more 
should  it  be  the  maxim  of  Christians,  in  regard  to 
their  constant  growth  and  increase  in  spiritual  life, 

—  Chap.  ii.  ver.  1.  Although  all  Christians,  by 
virtue  of  the  covenant  of  baptism,  have  been  ap- 
pointed watchmen  by  God  (Ps.  xviii.  32  IF  ;  exxxix. 
21),  yet  teachers  particularly  are  called  watchmen. 

—  Ver.  2.  The  prophets  had  not  only  a  commi.s- 
sion  to  preach,  but  also  to  write.  They  act  very 
wickedly  who  prevent  plain  people  from  reading 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  God's  Word  must  be  plainly 
presented,  so  that  even  the  most  simple  may  learn 
to  understand  it.  —  Ver.  3.  Waiting  comprises  in 
it  (1)  faith  ;  (2)  hope  ;  (3)  patience,  or  waiting  to 
the  end  for  the  time  which  the  Lord  has  ap- 
pointed, but  which  He  intends  us  to  wait  for. — 
Ver.  5.  Pride,  avarice,  bloodthirstiness,  and  de- 
bauchery God  does  not  leave  unpunished  in  any 
one.  —  Ver.  8.  We  see  here  that  not  everything 
which  is  done  in  accordance  with  international 
law  is  right  before  God  also,  and  allowed  by  Him. 

—  Ver.  9.  Prosperity  inspires  courage  ;  courage 
pride  :  and  pride  never  does  one  any  good.  —  Ver. 
10.  Bad  counsel  affects  him  most  who  gives  it. 
When  tyrants  are  to  execute  the  command  and 
sentence  of  God,  they  generally  observe  no  mod- 
eration in  doing  it.  —  Ver.  15.  One  should  never 
invite  any  one  as  a  guest,  against  whom  he  cher- 
ishes a  malignant  heart.  —  \^er.  16.  Those  who 
rejoice  in  distressing  others,  will  in  their  turn  be 
brought  to  distress  by  God  and  made  objects  of 
derision. 

Pfaff  :  Chap.  i.  ver.  12.  In  times  of  public  dan- 
ger th"  safest  and  the  best  [means]  is  to  have  recourse 
to  prayer.  By  it  one  can  best  vanquish  the  enemy 
and  arrest  his  career.  —  Chap.  ii.  ver.  1.  The  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel  are  spiritual  watchmen,  partly 
in  relation  to  the  souls  of  men,  over  which  they 


'60 


IIABAKKUK. 


are  to  watch,  and  partly  in  relation  to  the  Lord,  to 
whose  Word  they  are  to  give  heed  and  which  they 
are  to  preach.  —  Ver.  3.  Ye  despisers  of  the  Word 
of  God,  do  not  imagine  that  the  Word  of  the  Lord 
against  you  will  not  be  fulfilled.  —  Ver.  7  If.  To 
God  belongs  the  right  of  retaliation.  With  what 
measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you 
again.  —  Ver.  20.  If  the  divine  judgments  fall 
also  upon  us,  we  must  adore  with  the  deepest 
humility  of  heart,  and  lay  our  finger  upon  our 
mouth. 

RiEGER  :  Chap.  ii.  ver.  1.  Even  those  who  are  in 
true,  communion  with  God  are  not  always  in  the 
same  state  of  mind.  They  are  at  one  time,  although 
in  a  godly  frame  [of  mind],*  occupied  with  external 
things ;  at  another  time  they  are  entirely  abstracted 
from  earthly  things,  and  placed  in  a  condition 
which  approaches  to  waiting  before  the  throne  of 
God.  This  is  sometimes  effected  by  the  grace  of 
God  through  the  medium  of  an  unexpected  im- 
pulse; but  there  are  also  sometimes  on  the  part  of 
the  believer  a  preparation  and  composing  of  the 
mind  for  it.  This  state  of  mind  is  indicated  in  the 
New  Testament  by  the  expression,  I  was  in  the 
Spirit ;  and  the  prophet  calls  it  his  tower.  —  Ver. 
3  f.  What,  according  to  our  reckoning,  seems  to 
be  delayed,  will  be  admitted  not  to  have  been  de- 
layed ;  but  to  have  taken  place  at  the  appointed 
day  and  at  its  proper  time.  The  promises  cannot 
be  forced  [into  fulfillment]  by  a  headstrong  dispo- 
sition ;  but  on  the  contrary  one  falls  sooner  from 
such  busy  activity  back  again  to  a  state  of  indiffer- 
ence, and  thereby  neglects  the  promise. — Ver.  5  ff. 
Upon  what  must  a  man,  who  has  in  his  heart  no 
peace  arising  from  faith,  lean  for  the  purpose  of 
finding  peace  therein  ?  And  how  is  it  with  him 
who  misses  the  path  that  leads  to  God  "i  There  is 
nothing  else  adequate  to  fill  the  abyss  of  his  soul, 
even  though  he  were  able  to  swallow  the  whole 
world.  What  filth  upon  his  soul  has  he  in  his  con- 
quests, in  his  forced  acquisitions  and  possessions  ! 
—  Ver.  20.  The  prophet  had  obtained  this  whole 
disclosure  by  quiet  and  persevering  waiting  upon 
the  Lord,  and  now  for  the  sake  of  its  realization, 
also,  he  directs  the  whole  world  to  be  still  before  the 
Lord,  who  from  his  holy  temple  will  certainly 
hasten  the  fulfillment  of  these  his  words,  but  who 
also  will  be  honored  by  the  respect  and  by  the 
measure  of  the  regard  of  his  own  people  to  his 
judgments.  When  the  heart  is  free  from  its  thou- 
sand cares,  projects,  passions,  partial  inclinations, 
then,  and  not  till  then,  can  it  receive  many  a  ray 
of  divine  knowledge.  Faith  is  no  sleep,  but  a  vigi- 
lant knowledge ;  it  is  moreover  no  hasty  and  ^re- 
tipitate  attempt  to  help  one's  self,  but  a  waiting 
upon  the  Lord. 

ScHMiEDER  :  Chap.  i.  ver.  13.  It  would  be  in 
conformity  to  the  simple  arrangement  of  God  that 
the  pious  should  punish  the  impious,  the  more 
-Ighteous  the  unrighteous,  not  the  reverse.  But 
.he  ways  of  God  in  the  present  government  of  the 
world  are  so  complicated  and  intricate,  that  the 
reverse  often  actually  takes  place ;  and  this  is  to 
the  pious,  who  are  not  yet  ijro])erly  enlightened,  i 
great  trial.  — Ver.  14.  Then  it  seems  as  if  things 
were  directed  by  chance  and  at  will.  He  who  knows 
God  does  not  trust  to  false  appearances ;  but  the 
appearance  nevertheless  pains  him,  and  he  would 
wish  that  even  the  appearance  did  not  exist. —  Chap. 
li.  ver.  2  f.  The  end,  the  very  last  time  and  the 
establishment  of  the  perfected  kingdom  of  God,  is 
of  all  future  things  the  most  certain  and  the  most 
important,  and  every  intermediate  prophecy  of 

ndgment  and  redemption  has  a  real  value  only  in 


the  fact  that  it  delineates  this  last  end  and  assurei 
us  of  it.  —  Ver.  4.  Here  the  character  of  Abra- 
ham, the  father  of  the  faithful,  is  depicted  in  con- 
trast with  that  of  the  insolent  piinces  of  the  world 
This  character  is  righteousness,  the  source  of  right- 
eousness is  faith,  the  fruit  is  life  in  the  full  Biblical 
sense  of  the  word.  Faith  has  no  merit  on  the  part 
of  man,  because  man  caniiot  produce,  but  only  re- 
ceive it,  for  faith,  as  the  consciousness  of  God,  ia 
the  work  of  the  Creator  in  man.  It  is  also  faith 
alone,  which  receives  Christ  and  all  the  grace  of 
God  in  him  ;  but  the  same  faith  is  also  the  essen- 
tial principle  of  all  good  works.  We  must  beware 
of  considering  the  faith,  which  lays  hold  of  grace 
and  justifies  the  sinner,  as  a  peculiar,  separate  kind 
of  faith  :  faith  cannot  be  so  divided  in  reality  ;  but 
it  is  an  indivisible  unity  :  so  the  Bible  understands 
it.  The  dividing  and  isolation  of  faith  into  sep- 
arate kinds,  belongs  only  to  the  dogmatic  systems 
of  human  science. — Ver.  5.  Comp.  Dan.  v. — 
Ver.  6.  There  are  times,  when  nations,  that  are 
so  often  devoid  of  understanding,  become  prophets, 
and  the  voice  of  God  becomes  the  voice  of  the  peo- 
ple.—  Ver.  18.  The  teacher,  who  makes  an  idol, 
tries  to  animate  stone  and  wood.  But  the  anima- 
tion by  means  of  Imman  idea  and  art  ever  i-emains 
only  a  false  animation,  which,  if  it  is  considered 
real,  is  deceptive,  and  only  nourishes  superstition. 
W.  Hoffman  :  On  chap.  i.  ver.  12  (comp.  Schmie- 
der  on  chap.  ii.  ver.  1 )  :  Among  us  of  the  evangel- 
ical church  faith  is  not  even  yet  the  possession  of 
every  one.  There  is  certainly  need,  in  the  Church, 
of  the  venerable  form  of  father  Abraham  to  cast 
us  down  ;  of  the  man  who  never  lost  sight  of  what 
had  been  revealed  in  grace  and  truth,  who  contin- 
ually comforted  himself  with  the  fact,  that  the  eter- 
nal God,  who  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  who 
held  with  the  first  man  a  fellowship  of  peace,  still 
lived,  because  he  had  continued  to  reveal  himself 
during  two  thousand  years  previous. 

BuRCK :  It  is  something  to  know  the  final  pur- 
poses of  the  words  of  God,  and  to  be  able  properly 
to  apply  this  knowledge  in  public  and  private  af- 
fairs. 

HiEROM. :  Ver.  13.  He  says  this  in  the  anguish 
of  his  heart,  as  if  he  did  not  know  that  gold  ia 
purified  in  the  fire,  and  that  the  three  men  came 
out  of  the  fiery  furnace  purer  than  they  were  when 
they  were  thrown  in  ;  as  if  he  did  not  know  that 
God,  in  the  riches  of  his  wisdom,  sees  otherwise 
than  we  do. 

BuRCK :  Ver.  14.  That  God  watches  over  the 
smallest  animals,  he  neither  denies  nor  declares ; 
but  he  says  only  that  God  has  a  particular  care  for 
men,  especially  for  his  own  people. 

Hengstenb.  makes  an  effective  application  of 
ver.  13  ff.  to  gambling  hells  (Vorw.  z.  Ev.  K.  Z. 
[Preface  to  the  Evangelical  Church  Gazette]  1867), 

Capito  :  Chap.  ii.  ver.  1  :  While  the  righteous 
man  wrestles  with  God  by  faith,  he  conquers  at  last 
by  his  indefatigable  perseverance.  The  prophet  is 
perplexed  to  the  highest  degree,  wl"le  he  considers 
the  success  of  the  Chaldaean  and  the  misery  of  his 
own  people,  but  he  stands  not  the  less  constantly 
upon  his  guard,  i.  e.,  upon  the  Word  of  God,  which 
promises  reward  and  punishment,  and  he  leans  upon 
God,  as  upon  a  rock,  in  order  that  his  feet  may  not 
slip  upon  the  slippery  soil  of  temptation.  Whom 
does  God  answer  1  One  who  is  almost  broken  un 
der  daily  struggles  with  bitter  anguisa  of  soul,  to 
whom  nothing  remains,  after  every  protection  ia 
lost,  but  to  stand  fast  upon  his  watch,  i.  e.,  upon  th« 
Word  of  God.  Trial  teaches  such  perseverance. 
Only  the  answer  of  God,  if  it  is  heard  with  the  eai 


CHAPTER  111. 


3: 


of  the  neart,  leads  to  an  unwavering  hope,  for  it, 
■comes  when  man  despairs  of  everything  else. 

Ver.  3.    Philo  :  Every  word  of  (jiod  is  an  oath. 

BuRCK  :  0  those  deplorable  ones,  who,  under 
whatever  pretext,  or  self-delusion,  shun  trial.  O 
the  happiness  of  those  who  obtain  the  end  of 
faith,  and  who  are  to  be  gathered  to  Him  to  be  with 
Him.  He  will  come,  yea,  certainly  He  will  come. 
Yea,  come.  Lord  Jesus  !     Amen  ! 

Ver.  4.  CoccEius:  The  soul  stands  right  upon 
that  which  is  promised,  i.  e.,  Jesus  Christ,  if  it  loves 
Him.     If  it  does  not  love  Him,  it  is  perverse. 

BcRCK  :  On  every  point,  article,  accent,  on  every 
turn  and  even  collocation  of  words,  which  may 
seem  to  be  entirely  accidental,  the  Word  of  God 
has  laid  its  especial  emphasis.  We  acknowledge 
with  humility  that  it  is  a  word  from  God. 

Talmud  :  In  this  one  sentence.  The  just  shall 
live  by  his  emunak  [faith],  the  six  hundred  and 
thirteen  precepts,  which  God  once  delivered  from 
Sinai,  are  collected  into  a  compendium. 

Ver.  5.  ScHLiER :  The  Babylonians  were  a 
voluptuous  people,  notorious  for  their  drunken- 
ness; but  this  voluptuous  propensity  is  usually 
with  the  prophet  an  image  of  the  insatiable  desire, 
by  which  in  their  pride  they  destroyed  one  nation 


after  another.  And  yet  it  is  just  so  with  wine 
which  is  sweet  to  the  taste  and  seems  delicious, 
and  nevertheless  it  robs  the  most  powerful  of  his 
senses,  makes  him  helpless  and  an  object  of  uni- 
versal derision.  So  shall  it  happen  also  to  the 
Chaldceans  with  their  insatiable  greed:  it  will  only 
plunge  them  [by  their  own  agency]  into  destruc- 
tion and  make  them  objects  of  general  contempt. 

H.  MuLLER :  Many  treasures,  many  nets. 
Whom  does  not  the  miser  injure  ?  He  defrauds 
his  neighbor  of  his  property  :  he  is  like  a  thorn- 
bush  ;  he  grabs  and  holds  on  to  whatever  comes 
too  near  to  him  ;  he  seeks  everywhere  his  advan- 
tage to  the  disadvantage  of  others  ;  he  deprives  him- 
self of  God's  favor  and  blessing,  suffers  shipwreck 
of  his  conscience  and  good  name,  loses  the  favor 
and  love  of  men.     Lightly  won,  lightly  gone. 

Stumpf  :  Ver.  11.  So  in  Euripides,  Phaedra, 
the  wife  of  Theseus,  breaks  out  vehemently  against 
adulteresses,  that  they  should  fear  the  very  dark- 
ness and  the  houses  lest  they  might  even  raise  their 
voice  and  bring  the  abominable  deeds  which  they 
had  witnessed  to  light.i 

ScHLiER  :  The  scourge  of  the  Lord  will  perform 
its  service,  then  it  will  be  thrown  away. 

1  [See  the  Hippolytus  of  Euripides,  line  416  f.  —  0.  B.] 


THE   THEOPHANY. 

Chapter  III. 

[^Title  and  Introduction  (vers.  1,  2).  The  Prophet  represents  Jehovah  at  appearing 
in  glorious  Majesty  on  Sinai  (vers.  3,  4).  He  describes  the  Ravages  of  the  Plague 
in  the  Desert  (ver.  5).  The  Consternation  of  the  Nations  (vers.  6-10).  Refer- 
ence to  the  Miracle  at  Gibeon  (ver.  11).  Results  of  the  Interposition  of  God  on 
Behalf  of  his  People  (vers.  12-15).  Subject  of  the  Introduction  resumed  (ver. 
16).  The  Prophet  asserts  his  Confidence  in  God  in  the  midst  of  anticipated 
Calamity.  Parallels  to  this  Ode :  Deut.  xxxiii.  2-5  ;  Judges  v.  4,  5  ;  Pg.  Ixviii.  7, 
8;  Ixxvii.  13-20;  cxiv. ;  Is.  Ixiii.  11-14.  — C  E.] 

1  A  prayer  of  Habakkuk,  the  prophet :  with  triumphal  music^ 

2  O  Jehovah !  I  have  heard  the  report  of  thee,  I  am  afraid ; 
O  Jehovah  !  revive  thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years ; 
In  the  midst  of  the  years  make  it  known  : 

In  wrath  remember  mercy. 


3  God  ^  comes  from  Teman,^ 

And  the  Holy  One  from  mount  Paran.* 
His  splendor  covers  the  heavens, 
And  the  earth  is  fiill  of  his  glory. 

4  And  the  brightness  is  like  the  sun  ; 
Rays  ^  stream  from  his  hand  ; 

And  there  is  the  hiding  ^  of  his  power. 

5  Before  him  goes  the  plague  ; 

And  burning  pestilence  follows  his  feet. 


Selah 


6  He  stands  and  measures ''  the  earth  : 
He  looks,  and  makes  nations  tremble  . 
The  everlasting  mountains  are  broken  in  pieces 


82  HABAKKUK 


The  eternal  hills  sink  down  : 
His  ways  *  are  everlasting. 

7  I  saw  the  tents  of  Cnshan  ^  in  trouble  : 

The  tent-curtains  of  the  land  of  Midian  tremble 

8  Was  it  against  the  rivers  it  burned,  O  Jehovah  ? 
Was  thine  anger  against  the  rivers  ? 

Was  thy  fury  against  the  sea? 

That  thou  didst  lide  upon  thy  horses. 

In  thy  cliariots  of  victory. 

9  Thy  bow  is  made  cutii'ely  bare: 

Rods '"  [of  chastisement]  are  sworn  by  the  word.     Selah. 
Thou  cleavest  the  earth  into  rivers. 

10  The  mountains  saw  thee,  they  writhe ; 
A  flood  oi'  water  passes  over  : 

The  abyss  utters  its  voice ; 
It  lifts  up  its  hands  on  high. 

11  Sun.  moon,  stood  back  in  their  habitation," 
At  the  light  of  tliine  arrows,  which  flew, 

At  the  shining  of  the  lightning  of  thy  spear. 

12  In  anger  thou  marchest  through  the  earth ; 
In  wratli  thou  treadest  down  the  nations. 

13  Thou  goest  forth  fur  the  salvation  of  thy  people  ; 
For  the  salvation  of  thine  anointed  : 

Thou  dashest  in  pieces  the  head  from  the  house  of  the  wicked, 
Laying  bare  the  foundation  even  to  the  neck.      Selah. 

14  Thou  piercest  with  his  own  spears  the  chief  of  his  captains, 
That  rush  on  like  a  tempest  to  scatter  me  \ 

Their  rejoicing  is  to  devour,  as  it  were,  the  poor  in  secret. 

15  Thou  ti'eadest  upon  the  sea  with  tliy  horses. 
Upon  tlie  foaming  of  many  waters. 

16  I  heard,  and  my  bowels  trembled ; 
At  the  sound  my  lips  quivered  ; 
Rottenness  entered  my  bones  ; 

I  treml)le  in  my  lower  '^  parts, 

That  I  am  to  wait '''  (juietly  for  the  day  of  distress, 

When  lie  that  approaches  the  nation  shall  press  upon  i^ 

17  For  '^  the  fig  tree  will  not  blossom ; 
And  there  is  no  produce  on  tlie  vines ; 
The  fruit  of  the  olive  tree  fails, 

And  the  fields  bear  no  food  : 

The  flock  is  cut  oft'  from  the  fold ; 

And  there  are  no  cattle  in  the  stalls: 

18  But  I  will  exult  in  Jehovah, 

And  rejoice  in  the  God  of  my  salvation. 

19  Jehovah,  the  Lord,  is  my  strength, 


CHAPTER  III.  33 


And  makes  my  feet  like  the  hinds, 

And  causes  me  to  walk  upon  my  high  places. 

To  the  precentor,^^  with  my  stringed  instruments. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

[1  Ver.  1.  —  ni3^5^  ^^1  "P""  shigyonoth.  Keil  derives  it  from  HJli?,  to  etr,  then  to  reel  to  *nd  /ro,  a  r«eUll| 
long,  t.  «.,  a  Bong  delivered  in  the  greatest  excitement,  dithyrambus ;  ajler  dtchyrambs,  or  after  the  manner  of  a  martia, 
and  triumphal  ode.     Kleinert ;  nach  Dtlhyrambenioeise. 

Oesenius  derives  it  from  HStt^,    perhaps  i.  q.  S2tt?,  H^tt?,  to  be  great,  the  letters  27  and  W   being  interchanged. 

[2  Ver.  3.  —  "i  vS,  not  used  by  any  of  the  minor  prophets  except  Habakkuk,  in  this  verse  and  in  chap.  i.  11.  II 
is  most  frequently  used  iu  the  book  of  Job. 

[3  Ver.  3.  —  7Q"^n,  at,  or  on  the  right  hand,  hence  the  south,  the  quarter  on  the  right  hand,  when  the  face  is  toward 
Che  east. 

Teraan  was  a  country  probably  named  after  the  grandson  of  Esau  (Gen.  zxxvi.  11) ;  perhaps  a  southern  portion  of  th« 
land  of  Edom,  or,  in  a  wider  sense,  that  of  the  sons  of  the  East,  Beni-Kedem.  Eusebius  and  Jerome  mention  Teman  aj 
a  town  in  their  day  distant  fifteen  miles  (according  to  Eusebius)  from  Petra,  and  a  Roman  post.    Smith's  Diet.  Bib. 

[1  Vei'.  3. —  ^^S-""!!"^,  Deut.  xxxiii.  2.    See  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  art.  "  Paran,"  and  Robinson's  Bid. 
Res.  in  Put.,  etc...  vol.  i.,  pp.  186  and  552. 
[5  Ver.  4.  —  D^2"lp,    in  the  dual,  poetical  for  rays  of  light.     Arabic  poets  compare  the  first  rays  of  the  rising  sun 

to  horns,  and  hence  give  to  the  sun  the  poetical  name  of  gazelle.     Compare  i~l7|'*_S.   Qesen.,  Lex.     Kleinert :    Strahlem 
stud  ihm  zur  Seite. 

[6  Ver.  4,  etc.  —  li^SH  Dti71,  and  there  —  in  the  sun-like  splendor,  with  the  rays  emanating  from  it  —  is  the  hid- 
ing of  his  omnipotence,  i.  e.,  the  place  where  his  omnipotence  hides  itself.  The  splendor  forms  the  covering  of  the  Al- 
mighty God.     Keil. 

[7  Ver.  6. —  ^^Z2^^,  derived  by  some  from  ^^J2,  to  measure,  and  by  others  from  Tltt,  to  be  rrwed,  to  be  agitated 

The  LXX.  read  :   Kai  io-aXevQi)  rj  yrj  ;  the  Vulgate  has :  mensus  est  terram.     Luther  renders  it :  und  mass  das  Land , 
Keil :  sets  the  earth  reeling  ;  Kleinert  :   und  misst  die  Erde. 

[8  Ver.  6.  —  ir?  C/"i37  iTi3^7n.  Henderson  considers  these  words  as  epexegetical  of  the  preceding,  and  trana- 
lates  them  :  His  ancient  ways.  Keil  understands  it  as  a  substantive  clause,  and  to  be  taken  by  itself :  everlasting  courses^ 
ar  goings  are  to  him,  i.  e.  He  now  goes  along  as  he  went  along  in  the  olden  time.  Kleinert :  Die  Pfade  der  Vorzeit  seAldgt 
er  ein. 

[9  Ver.  7  —  Itt^^D,  a  lengthened  form  for  li7^^.  Whether  it  is  intended  to  designate  the  African  or  the  Arabian 
Cush  is  disputed.  Qesenius,  Maurer,  Delitzsch,  and  others  contend  for  the  former ;  but  the  connection  of  the  nam* 
with  that  of  1"*"1Q,  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  latter.     Henderson. 

[10  Ver.  9.  —  "I^S  n*112^  iT^I^I}!^  is  a  very  obscure  clause,  and  has  not  been  satisfactorily  explained.  Hender- 
ton  renders  it :  "  Ssveus  of  spear.s  was  the  word."  LXX.  :  'EvTeivuv  eyrevels  to  to^ov  <rou  eirl  rd  oKqirrpa,  Aeyei  Kvp40«; 
the  Vulgate  :  juramenta  tribiihus  qucE  locutus  es :  Luther  :  wie  du  geschworen  hottest  den  Stdmmen ;  Kleinert :  die  durMi 
Wort  beschworenen  Zur  htm  then. 

ril  Ver  11.  —  n^HT,   the   T\  in  this  word  indicates  direction.     The  sun  and  moon  withdrew  to  their  habitation. 
'■  T  ■..  : ' 

[12  Ver.  16.  —  r^rjJ^,  ''''f  lower  part,  iv/iat  is  underneath.     '^Pt7ir\,  what  is  underneath  me,  i.  e.,  my  lower  parts. 

[18  Ver.  16.  —  This  clause  explains  the  great  fear  that  fell  upon  him.  Vulgate :  ut  reguiescam  in  die  tribulationit.  TlM 
LXX.  do  not  translate  "Itt'S  —  'Ai/aTrauo-ofiai  iv  rnxepct  0Kiifi(j-em  ixov.  Luther  :  O  dass  ich  ruhen  mbchte  zur  Zeit  dm 
Triibsal.     Kleinert :  dass  ich  ruhig  entgegenharren  soil  dem  Tage  der  Angst. 

[14  Ver.  17.  —  "^3  may  be  rendered  although,  as  in  the  A.  V.,  or  though,  as  by  Henderson :  or  it  may  be  translated 
vckat  time,  when ;  but  it  can  also  be  rendered  like  the  Greek  yap,  or  the  Latin  enim.  The  LXX.  render  it  in  this  verse  by 
iioTi  ;  the  Vulgate  translates  it  enim ;  Luther,  denn ;  and  Kleinert,  dtnn  *a.  The  sense  is  substantially  the  same  in 
either  case. 

[16  Ver.  19.—  HSSPP,  from  the  Piel  of  n^3.  signifying,  to  be  oi-er  anything,  to  be  chief,  to  superintend  —  Dem 
Qesanemeister.  —  C.  E.]' 


EXEQETICAL. 

The  prophecy  of  the  judgment  of  the  world, 
under  the  form  of  a  theophanv,  and  already  pre- 

?ared  by  ii.  14,  immediately  follows,  like  Zeph.  i. 
(comp.  Zech.  ii.  13),  the  emphatic /«yete  Unquis  : 
let  all  the  world  be  silent  before  the  Lord.  That 
its  contents  are  evidently  just  as  much  prophetic 
KS   the  previous  is  evident  from  their  entirelv  oriir- 


nished  by  the  prophet  himself  (comp.  Introd.)  with 
the  liturgical  heading,  subscription,  and  interme- 
diate sign  (Selah,  vers.  3,  9,  13),  for  the  reason  that 
it  is,  in  fact,  by  its  rhythm,  diction,  and  formal 
finish,  conformed  to  the  hymns  and  psalms  adapted 
to  performance  [in  the  public  service]  It  is  solely 
the  application  of  a  subjective  notion  of  a  psalm  on 
the  ])art  of  Delitzsch  and  Keil,  when  they  make 
the  entire  song  a  mere  lyrical  jffusion  of  subjective 
emotions,  an  echo  of  cha])s.  i.  and  ii.  in   the  soul 


mal  character   and    from    their    having    reference  '  of  the  jmet  inspired  with  p«tic  feeling.       'ompare 
throughout    to   the  future;    and  it  ha.s  been  fur  ,  on  ver.  2.     It  can  be  saic!    at  the  most    that  the 


o4 


HABAKKUK. 


tlosing  lyrical  verses,  16-19,  sustain  a  relation  to 
the  prophecy  proper  similar  to  that  of  Nah.  ii.  12 
ff.  to  Nah.  ii.  1-1 1  ;  hut  they  do  not  cease  thereby 
jO  belong  to  the  prophecy.  That  the  poetic  form 
is  selected  has  its  reason  in  the  fact,  that  as  all 
prophecy  involuntarily  utters  itself  poetically  in 
consequence  of  the  elevation  of  the  soul  freed  from 
the  earth,  so  also  the  hi^^hest  degree  of  the  prophet- 
ical inspiration  includes,  at  the  same  time,  the  high- 
est degree  of  the  poetical.  We  have  examples  of 
this  in  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  and  Micah,  which, 
in  their  greatest  height,  strike  up  the  key  of  the 
Psalms.  It  entirely  contradicts  the  thoroughly 
original  and  grand  character  of  the  hymn,  when 
Delitzsch  does  not  even  allow  it  to  pass  as  original, 
but  brings  it  down  to  an  imitation  of  Ps.  Ixxvii. 
[  The  reasons  for  this  opinion,which  Delitzsch  brings 
together  with  great  pains,  and  the  most  plausible 
of"  which  he  repeats  in  the  Commentary/  on  the 
PsaJins,  are  only  of  a  subjective  demonstrative 
power ;  a  more  exact  examination  is  not  in  place 
here,  since  the  question  for  the  understanding  [of 
the  hymn]  is  an  equivalent  one.  Hupfeld  gives 
the  positive  counter  proof.  Ps.  iii.  p.  345,  Observ. 
69.) 

According  to  the  contents  the  hymn  is  composed 
of  the  following  constituent  parts  :  — 

I.  The  prophecy  of  the  theophany  itself;  vers. 
2-15. 

n.  The  application  of  this  prophecy  j  vers.  16- 
19. 

The  prophecy  itself  (vers.  2-15)  is  divided  in  to — 

(a)  The  introitus,  ver.  2,  five  lines. 

(6)  First  chief  part:  the  approach  of  God,  vers. 
3-7,  sixteen  lines. 

(c)   Transitus,  ver.  8,  five  lines. 

\d)  Second  chief  part :  the  operations  of  the 
judgment,  vers.  9-13,  sixteen  lines. 

(e)  The  concluding  strophe,  vers.  14,  15,  seven 
lines. 

The  application  is  divided  into  two  strophes  of 
six  lines  each,  and  a  concluding  strophe  [Abgesang, 
Collect]  of  five  lines.  [The  rhythmical  structure 
is  determined  somewhat  differently,  to  wit,  by  the 
recurring  Selak,  which,  in  the  second  place,  where 
it  might  be  expected  on  account  of  the  symmetry, 
is  substituted  in  the  text  by  a  very  old  intermediate 
space ;  the  theme  of  the  hymn  is  divided  into  the 
following  symmetrical  groups  :  (1)  seven  lines  (2- 
3  b);  (2)  "fourteen  lines  (3c-7);  (3)  seven  lines 
(8-9  b);  (4)  fourteen  lines  (9c-13);  (5)  seven 
lines  (14, 15).  The  symmetry  of  the  structure  ex- 
tends even  (as  is  frequently  the  case  in  the  Prov- 
erbs of  Solomon)  to  the  separate  members,  which 
generally  (only  with  the  exception  of  vers.  7,  8  c, 
13  c-14,  16  d")  consist  of  three  words.  [This  of 
course  refers  to  the  Hebrew  text.  —  C.  E.]  The 
knowledge  of  this  is  not  unimportant  for  the  inter- 
pretation.    Comp.  on  ver.  15.] 

The  form  of  the  theophany,  /.  e.  of  an  appear- 
ance of  God  for  judgment  accompanied  with  the 
agitation  of  all  the  powers  of  nature  and  elements, 
is  quite  peculiar  to  the  hymnology  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament and  entirely  born  of  its  [0.  T.]  spirit.  It 
is,  namely,  the  correlate  of  the  first  appearance  of 
the  kind  at  the  giving  of  the  law  upon  Mt.  Sinai 
(Ex.  xix.  16  fF. ),  which  in  its  turn  refers  back  to 
the  first  appearances  of  God  manifesting  himself 
to  the  patriarchs  :  coinj>are  particularly.  Gen.  xv. 
From  tha/.  appearance  the  hymns,  which  refer  to  a 
nistorical  theophany,  take  their  start.  Dent,  xxxiii.; 
Judges  V.  (comp.  Ps.  Ixviii.  8  ff'.  ;  Ixxvii.  10  ft'.)  ; 
Psalm  xviii.,  which  sums  up  the  battles  of  God  for 
iis  anointed,  in  the  form  of  the  theophany  (comj). 


2  Kings  vi.  17),  is  included  with  these.  But  the 
use  [of  the  O.  T.  hymns]  is  not  restricted  to  this 
[a  historical  theophany].  For  as  God  gave  his  law 
with  such  a  proof  of  his  glory,  so  also  will  the  ful- 
fillment and  execution  of  the  law,  the  judgment,  be 
accompanied  by  such  an  appearance  of  God,  com- 
ing cither  as  then  from  the  south  out  of  the  wilder 
ness,  or  down  from  heaven.  Of  this  the  yrophiik 
psalms  1.,  xcvii.  treat;  furthermore  Is.  xxx.  27  if.  • 
Ixiv.  I  ff.  (with  Ixiii.  19  b)  [19  b  begins  chap.  Ixiv 
in  the  A.  V.  ;  but  in  the  Hebrew  Onginal,  LXX., 
Vulgate,  and  Luther's  Version,  it  closes  chap. 
Ixiii.  —  C.  E.]  ;  and  most  fully  this  prophecy.  It 
lies  in  the  nature  of  the  subject,  that  in  prophecies 
of  this  kind  pro.phetic  vision,  poetic  intuition,  sym- 
bolism, and  reality,  are  interwoven  in  a  manner 
that  cannot  be  fully  explained  by  the  finite  under- 
standing. 

Heading.  A  Prayer,  a  general  name  of  a  song 
that  can  be  sung  in  worship,  hence  also  a  collective 
name  of  the  Psalms  (Ixxii.  20),  of  Habakkuk, — 
this  passage  shows  plainly  that  the  7  in  the  head- 
ings of  the  Psalms  also  is  intended  to  indicate  the 
author  —  the  prophet  (comp.  chap.  i.  ver.  1 )  after 
the  manner  of  the  dithyramb.  This  liturgical 
definition  is,  like  almost  all  preserved  in  the  O.  T., 
obscure ;  and  its  signification,  since  tradition  is  en- 
tirely unreliable  in  these  things,  can  only  be  con- 
jectured. Probably  it  is  to  be  traced,  like  TT^^IT, 
Ps.  vii.  1  (comp.  Claass  on  the  passage),  to  the 
root  n2l27,  to  err,  reel,  and  accordingly  signifies,  as 
a  plur.  abstr.,  the  mode  of  the  reeling  song,  the 
cantio  erratica,  the  Dithyramb.  [The  Dithyramb 
(Epich.,  p.  72,  Herod.,  i.  23,  and  Pindar)  was  a 
kind  of  poetry  chiefly  cultivated  in  Athens,  of  a 
lofty  but  usually  inflated  style,  originally  in  honor 
of  Bacchus,  afterwards  also  of  the  other  gods. 
It  was  always  set  in  the  Phrygian  mode,  and 
was  at  first  antistrophic,  but  later  usually  mono- 
strophic.  It  was  the  germ  of  the  choral  element 
in  the  Attic  tragedy.  It  was  sung  to  the  flute, 
whilst  the  rest  of  the  chorus  danced  in  a  circle 
round  the  altar  of  the  god.  From  this  circum- 
stance the  dithyrambic  choruses  were  called  Cyc- 
lian.  —  C.  E.]  It  has  no  connection  with  the  con- 
tents of  the  prophecy. 

[Keil :  As  shdgdh,  to  err,  then  to  reel  to  and  fro, 
is  applied  to  the  giddiness  both  of  intoxication  and 
of  love  (Is.  xxviii.  7  ;  Prov.  xx.  1  ;  v.  20),  shig- 
gdyon  signifies  reeling,  and  in  the  termination  of 
poetry  a  reeling  song,  i.  e.,  a  song  delivered  in  the 
greatest  e.Kcitement,  or  with  a  rapid  change  of 
emotion,  dithyrambus.  —  C.  E.] 

Introitus.  Ver.  2.  Jehovah,  I  have  heard  thy 
report  [rather  the  report  of  thee :  the  genitive  is 
that  of  the  object  —  C.  E.j ;  not  that  mentioned  i 
5  ff. ;  ii.  2  ff.  ;  for  he  had  not  only  heard  that,  but 
also  written  it  down,  and  published  it ;  but  the  re- 
port which  he  is  just  about  to  announce  (comp. 
the  retrospective  reference,  ver.  16;  Ob.  1  ;  Jer 
xlix.  14  ;  Jon.  i.) ;  the  report  of  the  grand  appear- 
ance of  Jehovah,  in  the  impending  judgment, 
which  is  drawing  near,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting 
with  punishment  the  Holy  Land,  and  that  with  a 
twofold  power  of  execution  (comp.  Am.  i.  2) ;  so 
that  in  the  Holy  Land  laid  waste  and  purified  L 
the  judgment,  God  by  means  of  the  judgment  ovei 
throws  the  s]ioilers.  The  separate  acts  meet  in  » 
picture,  as  in  Ps.  x-iii.,  before  the  vision  of  the 
seer.  Before  the  ])0T«er  of  this  theophany  rising 
upon  his  vision,  and  because  the  first  moment  ^  en- 

1  [Moment,  ;iiiiong  (itlier  meanings,  lias  that  of  es^entM 


CIlArTKU  111. 


Ob 


.ers  into  his  consciousness  as  a  fellow  sufferer  with 
others  (Mieah  i.  8)  the  prophet  recoils  :  There- 
fore 1  tremble,  I  am  afraid.  This  is  the  result  of 
the  manifestation  of  the  mighty  deeds  of  God  (Ex. 
XV.  14  ;  Ps.  xviii.  45).  Jehovah  revive  thy  work 
in  the  midst  of  the  years.  What  work  is  meant  '. 
Chap.  i.  5  spoke  of  a  work  which  was  to  be  accom- 
plished in  a  wonderful  manner,  and  under  that  was 
understood  the  desolation  of  the  earth  by  the  Chal- 
dtean.  That  work  cannot  be  meant  here  ;  for  al- 
though the  prophet,  without  human  weakness,  has 
to  Lumuiunicate  the  severe  chastisements  of  God, 
yet  he  cannot  directly  pray  for  them.  That  work, 
moreover,  was  not  called  ^"^  727D,  but  it  was  a 
work  by  itself,  whose  distinguishing  feature  was 
the  fact,  that,  although  ordained  of  God,  it  never- 
theless wrought  out  itself,  it  had  its  power  and  en- 
ergy in  itself  (i.  7).  A  work  of  grace  must  be  in- 
tended by  which  Jehovah  proves  Himself,  in  his 
peculiar,  well-known  way,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel 
(i.  12),  a  work  by  means  of  which  the  impending 

calamities  are  endurable  (comp.  ^^^  -'T-i?-? 
^3f.nri,  Ps.  cxxxviii.  7).  And  certainly  the  mean- 
mg  is  here  ;  quicken  it  in  the  midst  of  the  years  ; 
n*i7  has  the  meaning  of  revivifying,  of  quicken- 
ing anew  (Ps.  Ixxx.  19  ;  Ixxxv.  7  [6]),  a  work  of 
grace,  which  had  occurred  once  already  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  years,  and  whose  recurrence  Israel 
now  needs,  in  order  to  be  joyful  again.  And  this 
consists  with  no  other  act  of  God  than  the  deliver- 
ance from  Egypt,  which  is  described,  Ps.  xliv.  2,  in 
entirely  similar  words,  and  so  this  passage  under- 
stands Ps.  Ixxvii.  13.  It  stands  in  fact  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  years,  namely,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  national  existence  (Hos.  xi.  1).  Then  do  thy 
work  anew  in  the  midst  of  the  years  ;  in  the  midst 
of  the  years  make  known  ;  the  imperative  con- 
tinued by  the  imperfect  as  in  Ps.  xxxi.  2  ff. ;  to 
make  known  is  the  same  as  to  accomplish  before 
all  eyes  (Ps.  ciii.  7).  The  explanation  of  the  work, 
which  has  been  given,  agrees  well  not  only  with  the 
circumstance  that  in  fact  in  the  following  context 
(corap.  namely,  the  "old  paths,"  ver.  6)  a  return 
of  the  wonderful  works,  that  were  performed  at  the 
time  of  that  deliverance,  is  predicted,  but  also  with 
the  concluding  clause  :  in  wrath  (comp.  Is.  xxviii. 
21)  remember  mercy,  which,  according  to  what 
has  been  said,  evidently  means,  if  thou  intendest 
to  humble  us  again,  do  thou  also  again  deliver  us. 
The  announcement  follows  the  exclamation  of 
feeling  :  vers.  3-7.  The  approach  of  Jehovah  from 
the  South.  Eloah  (poetic  archaism  instead  of 
QTlvS,  comp.  Dcut.  xxxii.  15)  comes  from  Te- 
man,  and  the  Holy  One  (comp.  on  i.  12)  from 
the  moiintains  of  Paran.    The  southern  country, 

as  in  Judges  v.  and  Ps.  Ixviii.  (ptt"^ip^),  the  point 
from  which  God  sets  out,  because  He  approaches 
from  Sinai  (Ps.  Ixviii.  9  [8]),  is  introduced  (com- 
pare Deut.  xxxiii.)  by  the  enumeration  of  two 
divisions,  namely,  Teman,  which  is  the  same  as 
Edom,  and  forms  the  East  division  (comp.  Ob.  9 
with  Jer.  xlix.  22) ;  and  the  mountainous  region 
of  Paran,  between  Edom  and  Egypt  (1  Kings  xi. 
18),  forming  the  West  division.  Compare  the  peri- 
phrase,  Gilead  and  Manasseh,  Ephraim  and  Judah 
(Ps.  Ix.  9),  for  Canaan.  In  regard  to  the  Selah, 
compare  Sommer,  Bib.  Essays,  i.  1   if.,  Delitzsch, 

Nement,  part  of  a  whole.  The  two  momenta,  that  make  up 
the  prophetic  viaion  here,  are  de.struction  and  purification. 
It  is  the  first  which  causes  the  prophet  to  recoil.  —  C.  E] 


Psalter  (1867),  p.  70  ff.  While  God  approaches, 
his  splendor  covers  the  heavens  (comp.  Ps.  fiiL 
1 ),  the  clear  brightness  of  his  glory  making  its  ap- 
pearance (Ps.  civ.  1  f.  ;  Luke  i.  78),  which  like  the 
purple  light  of  the  morning  (Hos.  vi.  3)  covers  the 
heavens,  and  like  a  sea  of  fire  sinks  on  the  earth ; 
and  the  earth  is  filled  with  his  glory  (comp.  ii. 
14  ;  Is.  vi.  3  f. ).  nbnn,  properly  praise,  here  by 
metonymy  the  object  of  praise,  is  synonymous  with 
"Tins,  as  in  Ps.  Ixvi.  2.  The  flaming  glory  of 
Jehovah  filling  everything,  is  a  vision  of  such  ex- 
cessive sublimity,  that  one  scarcely  dares  to  follow 
the  pro]jhct  in  spirit  to  meditate  upon   it. 

Ver.  4.  Out  of  this  glory  —  the  veil  of  God  — 
bursting  upon  the  view,  shoot  forth  lightnings  like 
rays  (comp.  Ps.  xviii.  13;  Matt.  xxiv.  27),  like 
the  rays  of  the  rising  sun  through  the  morning 
sky  :  a  brightness  bursts  forth  like  sunlight  ( Is. 
V.30),  and  horns,  i.  e.  rays  (Ex.  xxxiv.  29  f.)  are 
at  his  side  [hand].  The' Arabic  poetry  and  pop- 
ular language  also  call  the  first  rays  of  the  rising 
sun  horns,  antlers,  and  conformably  with  this  they 
call  the  sun  himself  a  gazelle  (comp.  Ps.  xxii.  1). 
Hence  also  the  dual,  11""^  is  used  in  a  general 
sense  :  at  the  side,  equivalent  to  "  on  both  sides  "  ; 
compare  the  expression,  "  before  and  behind  "  [at 
his  presence,  at  his  feet —  C.  E.],  in  the  following 

verse  (Delitzsch).  LiT'tt  signifies  literally  "from 
his  hand,"  but  since  the  hand  is  by  the  side,  it  ia 
equivalent  to  "  at  his  side."  "As  the  disc  of  the  sun 
is  surrounded  by  a  splendid  radiance,  so  the  com- 
ing of  God  is  inclosed  by  rays  on  both  sides."  The 
suffix  in  ib  refers  to  God.  —  C.  E.]  And  there, 
in  this  radiant  splendor,  is  the  veil,  properly  the 
hiding  of  his  omnipotence  (comp.  Ez.  i.  27).  He 
is  so  resplendent  himself,  that  even  the  light  is  only 
his  garment  (Ps.  civ.  2).  The  garment  of  his  om- 
nipotence, by  virtue  of  which  He  is  judge  of  the 
world,  and  at  the  service  of  which  are  the  satellites 
of  the  judgment. 

Ver.  5.  Before  Him  goes  the  plague,  and 
burning  pestilence  follows  his  feet.  So  had  Hos. 
xiii.  14  predicted  it :  I  will  be  thy  plague,  O  death 
(the  plague,  which  provides  for  thee  the  victim),  I 
will  be  thy  pestilence,  0  grave.  With  these  angels 
of  death  he  had,  approaching  fi"om  the  south,  de- 
stroyed also  the  army  of  Sennacherib  (2  Kings  xix. 
35). 

Ver.  6.  Then  He  stands  (He  alone  is  calm 
amidst  all  the  violent  commotion,  comp.  Micah 
V.  iii.)  and  measures  the  earth.  The  measuring, 
1112  is  a  function  of  God  as  the  judge  of  the 
world ;  also  in  Ps.  Ix.  8  (Kal  is  employed  to  sig- 
nify parcelling  out  tracts  of  land,  comp.  Micah  ii. 
4),  and  Is.  Ixv.  7  (requiting  with  the  right  meas- 
ure), comp.  2  Sam.  viii.  2.  He  measures  the  earth, 
I.  e..  He  measures  the  countries  and  their  practices, 
in  order  to  execute  a  right  judgment.  [Delitzsch 
and  others  more  conformably  to  the  parallelism,  fol- 
lowing the  Targum  :  He  sets  [the  earth]  reeling  ; 
however,  the  signification  (^!1D=!2^!2)  cannot  be 
verified.]  He  looks,  examines  with  a  scrutinizing 
look  (Ps.  x.  14),  and  makes  the  heathen  tremble. 

["iri^  is  the  Hiphil  of  "^O^,  and  means  to  cause  to 
shake  or  tremble.  —  C.  E.]  God  is  a  spirit,  and 
his  spiritual  acts  are  of  complete  energy  and  eflS- 
ciency  ;  his  hearing  is  granting  ;  his  seeing,  help- 
ing or  judging;  his  rebuking,  annihilation.  Then 
the  primeval  mountains,  the  unchangeable 
[mountains]  (Micah  vi.  2  ;  comp.  Deut.  xxxiii.  15) 
burst  asunder ;   the  hills  of  the  eany  world 


f)t) 


IIABAKKUK. 


jink  down.  His  are  the  paths  of  olden  time, 
I.  e..  He  follows  them  :  the  ])atlis  in  which  He 
then  eonducte<l  liis  {ioo))lc  from  Eo;ypt  into  the 
land  [of  Cannanj  (l.wiii.  25  [-4]). 

Hence  also  now,  as  then  (comp.  Ex.  xv.  14  ff.) 
the  nations  on  both  sides  of  the  way  fall  into  fear 
and  confusion.  It  is  quite  plain  that  ver.  7,  in 
which  the  borderers  on  tlie  Red  Sea,  on  the  east 
and  west,  are  mentioned  as  the  tremiiling  nations, 
refrrs  to  that  event  [the  deliverance  from  I']fjypt] 
of  the  ancient  time.  I,  the  prophet,  see,  in  vision, 
the  tents  of  Cushan,  /.  p.,  Cush,  Ethiopia,  west, 
on  the  sea,  in  aflBiction  (comp.  Jer.  Iv.  15).  (So 
Luther,  Gesenii  s,  Maurer,  Delitzseh,  Keil,  Hitzig,. 
and  others.  Aceordinu'  to  the  Targum,  Talmud, 
Cushan  of  Mesopo;aniia  is  meant  (Judges  iii.  8  if.) 
[which  I  let  pass,  (.  does  not  agree  with  the  ar- 
rangement, Luth.]  ,  Ewald  considers  it  the  same 
as  Jokshan).  [Smith,  Did.  of  the  Bible,  art.  "  Chu- 
shan,"  thinks  that  Cushan  is  possibly  the  same  as 
Cushan-rishathaim  (A.  V.  Chushan-)  King  of  Mes- 
opotamia (Judges  iii.  8, 10).  See  article,  "Cushan." 

—  C.  E.]  The  curtains  of  the  land  of  Midian, 
on  the  east  of  the  Red  Sea,  tremble. 

Ver.  8.  A  lyrical  intermediate  strophe,  which, 
at  the  same  time,  sei-ves  as  a  connecting  link  with 
what  follows  :  the  poet  stops  in  the  description,  in 
order  to  take  a  new  start  (compare  similar  pauses, 
Gen.  xlix.  14;  Judges  v.  12;  Ps.  Ixviii.  20  ff. ; 
xviii.  21  ff.).  He  inquires  after  the  purpose  of  the 
approaching  God.  The  question  is  evidently  not 
put  for  an  answer  ;  but  it  is  a  poetical  form.  Was 
it  against  the  rivers,  O  Jehovah,  against  the 
rivers  that  thy  wrath  was  kindled  ?  Jehovah  is 
in  the  vocative,  because  it  would  [otherwise]  be 
connected  with  mn  by  7-  [The  Hebrew  idiom 
s  V  mn,  to  burn  to  one  (scil.,  anger),  to  feel  angry, 
he  wroth.  See  Nordheimer's  Heb.  Gram.,  vol.  ii.  p. 
227  —  C.  E.]  Or  was  thy  fury  against  the 
sea?     The  sea  and  rivers  also  retire  before  the  ap- 

))roaching  glory  of  God  (Ps.  cxiv.  3,  5).  DS con- 
nects cumulative  questions,  even  when  they  have 
nothing  disjunctive  in  them  (Gen.  xxxvii.  8). 
That  thou  didst  ride  upon  thy  horses,  the  cherub 
w  ings  of  the  wind  (Ps.  xviii.  1 1 )  upon  thy  chariot 
of  salvation?  The  elements,  clouds  and  winds, 
here  as  everywhere,  servants,  messengers,  media  of 
the  manifestation  of  God  (Ps.  civ.  4),  are  symbol- 
ized as  horses  and  chariots,  because  the  judgment 
is  a  warlike  act  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  and  chariots 
and  horses  are  the  instruments  of  war  (Micah  v. 
9  [10]).  [When  complex  terms  receive  a  suflBx, 
they  can  stand,  according  to  Hebrew  idiom,  in 
the  Stat,  constr.,  Ewald,  sec.  291  b.]  [This  con- 
struction is  poetical.  —  C.  E,]  The  signification 
oi  victory  for  n371l27^»  denied  by  some,  is  evidently 
implied  in  that  of  "  salvation,"  both  here  and  in 
Is.  lix.  17,  and  in  the  passages,  where  the  noun  oc- 
curs in  the  plural  (Ps.  xviii.  51,  and  other  places). 
[Keil :  "  By  describing  the  chariots  of  God  as 
chariots  of  salvation,  the  prophet  points  at  the 
outset  to  the  fact,  that  the  riding  of  God  has  for 
its  object  the  salvation  or  deliverance  of  his  people. 

—  C.  E.]  With  this  warlike  turn  the  transition  is 
immediately  made   to  — 

The  second  principal  part,  vers.  9-13,  which  de- 
Bcribca  how  the  judgment  is  put  in  execution. 
Ver.  9  a,  b,  continues  the  picture  of  God  as  the 
warrior,  begun  in  ver.  8.  Thy  bow  is  made  quite 
bare.  [It  is  unnecessary  to  invent,  with  the  inter- 
preters, for  "TlVn,  the  stem  ^"^3?  nudare,  which 
has  no  exi  tence,  of  wliich  the  form  [in  question] 


would  be  the  3  fem.  imp.  Nijih. ;  it  ia  the  3  imp 
Kal  from  "1"^^  (Is.  xxxii.  11),  comp.  V'l^  from 

372?"1  (Prov.  xi.  15).  '^*~'?!  is  an  anomalous  fem- 
inine form  of  the  infin.  absolute  from  the  cognate 
stem  r\'y^  (comp.  Ewald,  sec.  240  d.  ;  312  b,  2)  , 
and  so  the  words  are  closely  connected  :  it  would 
have  Ijceii  prosaic  and  according  to  rule  to  have 
said  "li^^ri  "li-127.]  [Gesenms.Fiirst,  and  Keil  take 

"liyri  from  ~l^l?,  and  ^^^'^  as  a  noun.—  C.  E.] 
God's  judgment  is  represented  as  an  arrow  upon 
the  string  also  in  Ps.  xxi.  13  [12]  comp.  Lam.  iii. 
12).  But  the  bow,  and  in  general  God's  weapons 
of  war,  are  not  to  be  taken  in  the  strictest  literal 
sense,  but  they  are,  as  the  prophet  adds  in  explan- 
atory apposition,  the  scourges  sworn  by  the 
word.  niOTS  has  nowhere  the  signification  of  ar- 
row, which  would  suit  excellently  the  bow,  and 
which  is  held  by  some  interpreters  (e.  g.,  Meier, 
^tud.  u.  Krit.,  1842,  1031  f.)  ;  even  in  ver.  iv.  it  can 
at  the  most,  as  in  2  Sam.  xiv.  1 7,  signify  spears. 
Were  it  to  be  actually  taken  in  this  sense,  then, 
since  it  introduces  a  new  figure,  it  must  be  joined 
to  nV2\)  by  1,  But  certainly  the  ~)^S  indicates 
that  here  the  figure  passes  over  into  the  thing  [re- 
ality] ;  hence  we  understand,  as  we  have  said,  the 
clause  rather  as  an  explanatory  adjunct,  and  ac- 
cordingly mt2X3  as  scourges,  calamities ;  compare 
this  usage  of  the  language  for  the  chastisements 
threatened  by  the  prophets :  Micah  vi.  9  (hear  the 
rod  !) ;  Ez.  vii.  11  ;  Is.  x.  5  ;  ix.  3  ;  xiv.  5.  They 
are  sworn  to  by  the  word,  i.  e.  the  Word  of  God  ; 
comp.  Micah  vi.  9  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  40  f  ;  and  as  to 
the  absolute  use  of  IDS  for  the  omnipotent  Word 
of  God,  which  opens  a  way  for  his  great  deeds  in 
the  world,  compare  Ps.  Ixviii.  34  [33];  11   [12]. 

~)ttS  is  in  the  ace.  instr.  like  "^2nn,  Ps.  xvii.  13. 

The  participle  m!713tt7  (comp.  Ez.  xxi.  23  [28] 
is  separated  from  this  mstrumentalis  belonging  to 
it,  because  it  should  stand  emphatically  at  the  be- 
ginning, and  for  the  same  reason  it  is  also  placed 
before  its  substantive ;  consequently  it  is  to  be 
considered  as  the  stat.  constr.,  miiJS  nTyiStT, 
like  2^S  '^D'^D3,  Micah  v.  4  (5).  Delitzseh  gives 
a  synopsis  of  more  than  a  hundred  explanations  of 
this  difficult  passage).  After  tlie  Selah  the  prophet 
turns  again,  ver.  9  c-12,  to  the  description  of  the 
powerful  catastrophe  of  Nature  which,  according 
to  the  parallelism  pervading  the  Holy  Scriptures 
between  the  mikrokosmos  and  makrokosmos,  man 
and  visible  nature,  accompanies  the  judgment. 
With  streams  thou  dividest  the  earth.  [Del- 
itzseh, Baumlein,  Keil :  into  rivers  thou  dividest 
the  earth ;  without  sense ;  Hitzig  :  Thou  dividest 
rivers  to  earth ;  Ewald  :  "Thou  dividest  streams  to 
land,  etc.].  Our  translation  [rmn3,  ace.  instr. 
like  "l^S]  is  justified  by  Micah  i.  4,  where  the 
surface  of  the  earth  is  cleft  into  gulleys  by  the 
masses  of  water  rushing  from  the  mountains. 

Ver.  10.  Whence  the  torrents  ?  The  moun- 
tains saw  thee  and  trembled,  the  water-flood 
rushes  on.  Thunder-storm  and  violent  rains,  as 
a  representation  of  the  most  powerful  agitation  of 
the  elements,  accompany  the  theophanv,  comp.  on 
Micah,  at  the  place  cited.  From  thi  mountains 
the  prophet  turns  to  the  extreme  o><posite,  the 
depths  of  the  sea:  the  abyss  raises  its  voice  -  ■ 
the  deep  water,  that  surrounds  the  main-land  (Jon. 
ii.  6'    and    lies   spread   out   under  the  niain-lanc 


CHAPTER   111. 


'61 


(Gen.  xlix.  25)  is  here,  like  the  mountains,  poet- 
ically personified.  The  voice  of  the  abyss  is  the 
-oarinir  of  the  waters  shut  up  underneath  (Job 
xxviii.  14).  It  raises  its  hands  on  high.  Oi"! 
is  not  the  subject-nominative,  which  would  yield 
no  sense,  since  the  height  cannot  stretch  out  its 
hands  over  itself;  but  it  is  the  accusative  of  direc- 
tion (2  Kings  xix.  22).  The  archaic  form  ^m"^~T'* 
is  selected  for  pictorial  effect,  instead  of  the  current 

form  ^"'^t"  ^y  '''^^  hands  of  the  abyss  one  will 
properly  understand  the  waves  of  water  thrown 
visibly  on  high,  which,  as  at  the  Deluge,  break 
through  the  flood-gates  of  the  earth  (Nah.  ii.  7), 
and  unite  with  the  gushing  rains  from  heaven 
(comp.  Gen.  vii.  11). 

Ver.  11.  The  svm,  the  moon,  either,  enter  into 
their  dwelling,  i.  e.,  withdraw  so  that  one  sees  them 
no  more,  and  darkness  comes  on  (Delitzsch,  Hitzig, 
Keil) ;  or,  stand  still,  continue  standing  terrified 
in  their  place,  just  where  they  were  standing  at 
the  beginning  of  the  judgment.  The  latter,  on 
account  of  1T2V  and  the  reference  to  Jos.  x.  is  the 
more  probable,  7l3T  is  a  place  of  abode  (comp. 
Ps.  xlix.  25  with  ciii.  16) ;  the  precise  idea  of 
dwelling  arises  only  from  the  addition  of  n'll  (1 
Kings  vi.  13;  2  Chron.  vi.  2). 

At  the  light  of  thine  arrows,  which  flew,  at 
the  shining  of  thy  spear.  The  holy  majesty  of 
God  manifesting  itself  is  turned  to  the  majesty  of 
a  judge  executing  justice;  the  holy  light  into  the 
devouring  fire  (Is.  x.  17). 

The  discourse,  vers.  12,  13,  turns  directly  to  the 
acts  of  judgment  connected  with  the  salvation  of 
Israel :  In  anger  thou  marchest  (poetical  expres- 
sion, as  in  Judges  v.  4 ;  Ps.  Ixviii.  8)  the  land, 
first  of  all  the  Holy  Land,  since  He  comes  from 
Sinai  (comp.  Micah  i.  2).  In  indignation  thou 
thrashest  the  heathen,  as  of  old  (Ps.  Ixviii.  22 
[211). 

Ver,  13.  Thou  wentest  forth  for  the  salva- 
tion of  thy  people  —  "SW^,  as  a  nom.  verb,  is  con- 
strued with  the  Ace.  (Ewald,  sec.  239  a)  — for  the 
salvation  of  thy  anointed,  hy  whom,  according 
to  the  parallelism,  is  to  be  understood  not  so 
much  the  unworthy  Jehoiakim  as  the  nation  itself 
(Ps.  Ixxxiv.  10  [9]  ;  cv.  15).  (LXX.,  Rosenmul- 
ler,  Ewald,  Hitzig.) 

Thou  crushest  the  head  (Ps.  ex.  6)  of  the 
house  of  the  wicked,  laying  bare  the  founda- 
tion even  to  the  neck.  The  house  of  the  wicked 
is  the  Chaldaean  nation  viewed  as  a  family ;  com- 
pare the  house  of  Israel,  Ps.  cxv.  12,  and  above. 
Whilst  it  is  compared  to  a  human  body  (compare 
the  inverted  comparison.  Job  xxii.  16 ;  Eccles.  xii. 
3  f.)  its  entire  destruction  (iravoXedpia,  Jo.  Schmid) 
is  represented  by  the  enumeration  of  the  separate 
parts,  head,  lower  extremities,  and  neck.     The  in- 

fin.  abs.  rmV,  to  lay  bare,  i.  e.,  from  the  founda- 
tion, to  raze  to  the  ground  (Ps.  cxxxvii.  7)  stands 
as  the  abl.  gerundii,  Ges.,  sec.  131,  2. 

1  he  concluding  portion  [of  the  description  of 
Ji*  tbeophany  —  C.  E.],  vers.  14,  15,  carries  out 
tL  thought  still  further.  It  differs  irom  what 
precedes  by  beginning  with  shorter  rhythms. 
Thiu  piercest  through  with  his  spear  (comp. 
5n  ver.  9),  with  the  weapons  of  the  wicked  one 
,'comp.  Ps.  vii.  17  (16),  the  head  of  his  princes, 

comp.  Tl^~'3,  Judges  v.  7-11  ;  LXX.  on  the  same 
pMsage.  and  Ges.,  s.  v.  in  Thea.     The  signification 


of  hordes  (Delitzsch,  Keil)  cannot  be  evolved  fron 
the  circumstance  that  ''T'^p  designates  an  inhabi- 
tant of  the  niTH^p,  the  plain  :  the  passage  treats  of 
warriors,  who  have  entered  by  force,  not  of  peace- 
ful settlers.  His  princes,  they  rush  in  (comp.  i. 
11)  to  disperse  me,  properly  to  scatter  me:  the 
prophet  speaks  in  the  name  of  the  people ;  and 
they  rejoice  as  if  they  were  allowed  to  devour 
the  poor  in  secret ;  literally,  whose  rejoicing  is, 
as  it  were,  in  devouring,  etc.  (comp.  Ps.  x.  5  ff.). 

The  7  concomitantise  as  in  ver.  11. 

Ver.  15.  Thou  treadest  upon  the  sea,  Thy 
horses  upon  the  billows  of  great  waters.  Usu- 
ally, Thou  walkeston  the  sea  (Umbreit,  Hitzig)  or 
Thou  walkest  through  the  sea  (Delitzsch,  Keil)  with 
thy  horses.  The  exposition  has  its  origin  in  the 
Masoretic  interpunction,  which,  in  following  the 
rhythmical  structure  of  the  hymn,  unites  the  first 
three  words.  But  already  in  the  preceding  verse 
the  rhythmical  unity  does' not  consist  of  three,  but 
of  two  words  ;  and  "even  if  in  ver.  15  we  take  the 
number  three  as  a  foundation  [of  rhythmical 
unity]  the  rhythmical  arrangement  indicated  by 
the  Masorites  would  still  not  involve  the  logical 
(comp.  Ps.  XXX.  8).  Our  exposition  is  much 
simpler,  by  which  the  last  four  words,  with  the 
verb  Tf^iT,  which  is  naturally  to  be  supplied,  form 
a  sentence.  In  this  way  the  dragging  occasioned 
by  the  following  ace.  instr.  "T'DID  as  well  as  the 
still  more  pompous  conception  of  the  second  mem- 
ber disappears,  and  the  clause  [156]  stands  in  ap- 
position. I'n  has  then  both  constructions,  with 
2  as  in  Deut.  xi.  24,  and  vnth.  the  Ace.  as  in  Job 
XX.  15.  Following  Ps.  Ixxvii.  20  (19)  Delitzsch 
finds  in  the  passage  a  reminiscence  of  the  Red 
Sea ;  Hitzig  understands  by  the  sea  the  host  of 
the  enemy.  The  latter  on  account  of  the  connec- 
tion with  what  immediately  precedes,  is  the  more 
probable  (comp.  Is.  xvii.  12  ff.).  And  it  appears 
to  me  nearest  the  truth  according  to  the  joint  con- 
nection of  the  combined  thoughts :  As  thou  didst 
once  lead  thy  people  through  the  Red  Sea,  and 
marching  before  didst  cast  down  the  waters,  so 
wilt  thou  now  march  through,  renewing  thy 
work  (ver.  2)  and  treading  down  the  surging  mass 
of  the  enemy's  host. 

The  Subjective  Application  of  the  Prophecy  follows, 
with  trembling,  but  confident  faith,  in  the  third 
principal  part,  vers.  16-19.  After  the  vast  picture 
has  rolled  past  his  eyes,  the  prophet  looks  back  to 
the  beginning.  I  have  heard  this,  —  this  divine 
judgment  just  described,  which  depends  upon  the 
sad  condition  of  the  land's  being  overrun  by  the 
Chaldaeans  ;  —  my  beUy  trembled  (comp.  Is.  xvi. 
11).  At  the  cry,  crying  aloud,  my  lips  quivered, 
Gew.  :  At  the  sound  my  lips  quivered  (Delitzsch, 

chattered),  bb^  cannot  mean  to  chatter,  for  the 
lips  do  not  chatter,  but  the  teeth.  We  translate  it 
according  to  the  analogy  of  ^^It^v  and  nD"ip7, 

Ex.  XX.  7  ;  Ps.  xxiv.  4  ;  comp.  Is.  xv.  5.  Rotten- 
ness, the  feeling  of  complete  weakness  (Prov.  xii. 
4)  comes  into  my  bones,  and  under  me,  down 
to  my  feet  (Ewald,  sec.  217  k),  I  tremble  :  that  I 

(*"1irS,  quod,  as  in  1  Sam.  ii.  23;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  52) 

am  to  wait  quietly  (n^3,  of  sileni  submission,  as 
in  Lam.  iii.  26)  for  the  day  of  distress  (comp.  on 
ver.  2  and  on  Ob.  12),  for  the  approach  of  him 


•dS 


IlAliAKKUK. 


ligainst  the  people,  who  is  about  to  oppress 
them.  7?  sensu  infenso,  as  in  Job  xx.  27.  After 
the  grand  consolatory  picture,  the  prophet  once 
more  indulges,  for  himself  and  his  hearers,  in  this 
gloomy  view,  which  he  draws  of  the  nearest  fu- 
ture. 

Ver.  17.  For  the  fis  tree  will  not  blossom, 
and  no  yield  will  be  on  the  vine  —  the  fruit  of 
the    olive  tree  fails:    it    shrivels    up.     [Kleinert 

translates  •n^l"ntt717Q,  das  Ansetzen,  die  Frucht- 
ansdtse  des  Oelbaums ;  it  is  literally  fruit  of  the 
olive  tree.  Compare  the  phrase  """^P  ^^^  to 
bear  fruit.  —  C.  E.]  Figs,  wine,  olive  tree  are 
mentiuncd  as  the  noblest  products  of  the  land 
(Micah  iv.  4  ;  vi.  15).     And  the  corn-field  yields 

no  food.    n"1Q7B?,    fields,  is  plurale  tantuin,  with 

a  singular  signification,  equivalent  to  "^"^^  hence 
construed  with  the  singular  (Ges.,  sec.  146,  2). 
The  flock  is  away,  literally  cut  off  from  the  fold, 
and  there  are  no  cattle  in  the  stalls.  As  in 
Joel  1  f.  the  desolation  caused  by  the  enemy  (e.  f.) 
seems  to  be  summed  up  with  the  natural  calam- 
ities that  befall  the  land  (a-d). 

But  out  of  the  distress  the  prophet,  and  with 
him  the  people,  raises  his  eye  to  the  object  of  faith, 
gathering  words  of  hope  and  confidence  from  the 
Psalms,  as  in  Micah  vi.  7.  Ver.  18.  But  I  — 
used  emphatically  to  express  the  antithesis :  not- 
withstanding all  that,  just  as  in  Micah  vii.  7  — 
will  rejoice  upon  Jehovah.  3,  not  in  God,  but 
as  in  the  verbs  expressing  delight  generally,  indi- 
cating the  ground  of  the  joy,  comp.  irri,  Luke  i. 
47.  I  will  exult  in  the  God  of  my  salvation, 
who  procures  my  salvation,  and  upon  whom  my 
salvation  rests  (ver.  13  ;  Micah  vii.  7).     For  — 

Ver.  19.  Jehovah,  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel, 
whom  other  nations  do  not  have,  nor  know  (Micah 
iv.  5;  comp.  Gen.  ix.  25  (26)),  is  my  strength 
(Ps.  xxvii.  1 ),  and  He  makes  my  feet  like  hinds  ; 
a  concise  comparison,  equivalent  to  the  feet  of 
hinds,  borrowed  from  Ps.  xviii.  34  (33).  This  is 
not  merely  a  figure  for  warlike  activity  in  pur- 
suing, but  more  commonly  for  the  irresistible 
strength,  which  springs  from  confidence  in  God 
(comp.  Is.  xl.  29  ff.y,  (Delitzsch).  He  makes 
me  to  walk  on  my  high  places  (from  Ps.  xviii. 
34  (33);  comp.  Deut.  xxxiii.  29),  —  upon  the 
heights  of  salvation,  which  stand  at  the  end  of  the 
way  of  tribulation,  and  which  only  the  righteous 
man  climbs  by  the  confidence  of  faith  (ii.4).  With 
this  p  -ospect  of  faith  resulting  from  vers.  4-15,  the 
hymn  .iloses  naturally  and  beautifully. 

The  Liturgical  Subscription, —  to  the  chief  singer 
on  my  stringed  instruments,  —  corresponds  to 
the  heading,  ver.  1  (compare  the  Introduction,  3). 
21  cannot,  as  Hitzig  thinks,  represent  the  stat. 
abs. ;  but  it  is,  as  in  these  musical  expressions  gen- 
erally, the  2  of  accompaniment  (Ps.  xxxiii.  2,  3). 
Habakkuk  accordingly  dispatched  his  hymn  to  the 
director  of  the  temple-music  (comp.  the  Comm.  on 
Ps.  iv.  1),  and  stipulated  for  the  accompaniment 
of  the  performance.  To  accompany  the  hymn  lor 
the  praise  of  God  with  stringed  instruments  was 
customary  among  those  skilled  in  music  (Ps. 
Lxxvii.  7  (6)).  Not  merely  the  Lcvites,  but  also 
other  prominent  members  of  the  congregation  and 
•noved  by  the  Spirit,  as,  e.  g.,  the  king,  had  the 
right  and  were  accustomed  to  do  this  in  the  tem- 
ple (1*1.  xxxviii.  20). 


[Keil:  '■The  last  words,  Nri'i3"'2:?2  n:^*3pb 
do  not  form  part  of  the  contents  of  tlie  supplica- 
tory ode,  but  are  a  subscription  answering  to  thi 
heading  in  ver.  1,  and  refer  to  the  use  of  the  ode 
in  the  worship  of  God,  and  simply  difter  from  the 

headings  n-^2pb  ni2'>3?2  in  Ps.  iv.,  vi.,  liv., 
Iv.,  Ixvii.,  and  Ixxvi.  through  the  use  of  the  suf- 
fix in  \n'i3'^353."  Through  the  words,  "  to  the 
president  (of  the  temiile-music,  or  the  conductor) 
in  accompaniment  of  my  stringed  playing,"  the 
prophet  appoints  his  psalm  for  use  in  the  public 
worship  of  God  accompanied  by  his  stringed  play- 
ing.    Hitzig's   rendering   is   grammatically   false, 

"  to  the  conductor  of  my  pieces  of  music  ; "  for  5 
cannot  be  used  as  a  periphrasis  for  the  genitive, 
but  when  connected  with   a  musical  expression, 

only  means  with  or  i?i  the  accompaniment  of  (3  in- 

strumenti  or  concomitantioe.) .  Moreover,  ni2^Zl3 
does  not  mean  pieces  of  music,  but  simply  a  song, 
and  the  playing  upon  stringed  instruments,  or  the 
stringed  instrument  itself  (see  at  Ps.  iv. ).  The 
first  of  these  renderings  gives  no  suitable  sense 
here,  so  that  there  only  remains  the  second,  viz. : 
"  playing  upon  stringed  instruments."  But  if  the 
prophet,  by  using  this  formula,  stipulates  that  the 
ode  is  to  be  used  in  the  temple,  accompanied  by 
stringed  instruments,  the  expression  binglnothaif 
with  my  stringed  playing,  affirms  that  he  himself 
will  accompany  it  with  his  own  playing,  from 
which  it  has  been  justly  inferred  that  he  was  qual- 
ified, according  to  the  arrangements  of  the  Israel- 
itish  worship,  to  take  part  in  the  public  perform- 
ance of  such  pieces  of  music  as  were  suited  for 
public  worship,  and  therefore  belonged  to  the  Le- 
vites,  who  were  entrusted  with  the  conduct  of  the 
musical  performance  of  the  temple. 

Alexander  on  Is.  xxxviii.  20 :  "  The  singular 
form,  my  songs,  refers  to  Hezekiah  as  the  author 
of  this  composition  ;  the  plurals,  we  will  sing  and 
our  lices,  to  the  multitude  who  might  be  expected 
to  join  in  liis  public  thanksgiving,  not  only  at  first, 
but  in  after  ages." 

Kleinert  has  adduced  no  proof,  except  the  single 
case  of  Hezekiah,  which  does  not  seem  to  be  con- 
clusive, that  others  besides  Levites  were  accus- 
tomed to  take  part  in  the  performance  of  the  Tem- 
ple-music. David  divided  four  thousand  Levites 
into  twenty-four  classes,  who  sang  psalms  and  ac- 
companied them  with  music.    Each  of  these  classes 

was  superintended  by  a  leader,  n?55P  placed  over 
it ;  and  they  performed  the  duties,  which  devolved 
upon  them,  each  class  a  week  at  a  time  in  succes- 
sion, 1  Chron.  xvi.  5  ;  xxiii.  4,  5  ;  xxv.  1-31  ;  comp. 
2  Chron.  v.  12,  13.  This  arrangement  was  con- 
tinued with  occasional  interruptions.  2  Chron.  v. 
12-14;  xxix.  27;  xxxv.  15;  Ezra  iii.  10;  Neh. 
xii.  45-47  ;  1  Mace.  iv.  54  ;  xiii.  51.  —  C.  E.] 

DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

Concerning  the  nature  of  the  theophany  see  the 
Exegetical  Exposition. 

'J'he  works  of  God  are  all  profoundly  connected 
with  one  another.  The  soul  of  this  connection  if 
the  revelation-principle,  the  light.  With  the  shin- 
ing of  the  light  the  physical  creation  begins,  and 
each  day  is  a  copy  of  it  [the  physical  creation]  (Ps 
civ.,  comp.  Herder,  IFFT.  zur  Rel.  n.  'Iheol.,  i  56 
flF. ;  v.  70  fF.) ;  from  a  fresh  shining  ir    [upon  us 


CHAPTER  III. 


Sh 


of  the  light  the  prophets  expect  the  removal  of  the 
disturbance  in  the  moral  world  (Hos.  vi.  3  ;  Is.  ix., 
and  this  hymn)  ;  and  every  j;overning  act  from 
the  spirit  of  God  is  a  pretiguration  of  this  future 
[renovation]  (2  Sam.  xxiii.  4).  A  shining  of  the 
light  into  the  darkness,  is  the  fulfillment  of  these 
expectations  (John  i.  5).  The  connection  between 
the  economy  of  the  Old  Testament  and  that  of  the 
New  is  this,  that  the  spiritual  meaning  is  evolved, 
with  increasing  clearness,  from  the  physical  ground- 
work. But  this  is  in  tlie  midst  of  the  years.  At 
the  end  of  the  years  the  entire  physical  nature  will 
be  restored  to  the  sphere  of  the  s/tiritaal  light. 

For  between  these  two  spheres  there  exists  also 
an  indissoluble  connection.  As  the  destruction  of 
the  original  moral  unity  between  God  and  man- 
kind reflected  itself  on  nature  (Gen.  iii.),  (and 
hence  the  prophets  e.xpect  the  removal  of  terrors 
and  discord  from  the  time  of  the  salvation  [the 
last  time,  or  time  of  the  Messiah],  Is.  xi.),  so  the 
last  consequence  of  sin,  the  judgment,  is  accom- 
panied by  the  fearful  commotion  of  the  elements ; 
before  the  avenging  God  march  the  mosi  terrible 
judgments  :  the  sighing  of  nature  (Rom.  viii.)  be- 
comes groaning  and  shrieking  ;  but  these  again 
are  only  the  travail-throes  of  the  pure  and  glori- 
ous new  birth.  After  the  darkness  and  terror  at 
the  death  of  Jesus  follows  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead. 

On  the  other  hand  the  coming  of  God  to  the 
judgment  is  organically  connected  with  the  issue 
of  the  document,  according  to  which  the  judgment 
is  to  take  place.  It  is  a  coming  from  Sinai.  And 
as  a  coming  to  the  relief  and  deliverance  of  captive 
Israel,  it  is  associated  with  the  prototype  of  their 
deliverances,  —  their  emancipation  from  Egypt.  It 
is  indeed  always  something  new,  which  Jehovah 
does,  and  yet  always  onl}'  a  revival  of  the  old  ;  He 
is  a  steadfast  and  unchangeable  G.id,  and  perfectly 
uniform  in  his  manifestations,  and  always  ac- 
knowledges the  beginnings  of  his  actions.  How- 
ever strange  his  works  and  revelations  appear,  con- 
sidered a  priori,  so  strange  that  the  view  of  them 
is  unsupportable ;  yet  when  He  goes  forth.  He  goes 
forth  for  the  salvation  of  his  people.  He  is  a  faith- 
ful and  concealed  God. 

Every  renewal  of  the  wrath  and  pity  of  God  is 
one  of  the  gradual  fulfillments  of  the  protevan- 
gelium  (Gen.  iii.),  that  the  serpent  is  indeed  per- 
mitted to  bruise  the  holy  seed  on  the  heel,  on  ac- 
count of  sin,  but  that  again  and  again  its  head  is 
crushed  (ver.  14)  ;  and  it  is  a  gradual  revival  of 
the  proto-prophecy  (1  Kings  xix.),  according  to 
which,  the  still  small  voice,  in  which  God  is,  comes, 
after  the  wild  agitations  of  the  terrible  judgment 
which  goes  before  Him. 

In  this  all-embracing  unity  of  the  work  of  God 
lies  the  key  to  the  understanding  of  intuitive 
prophecy.  Standing  upon  its  watch-tower  (ii.  1) 
it  sees,  over  the  scene  of  confusion,  the  work  of 
God  in  its  unity  and  entireness,  as  if  its  parts 
were  placed  side  by  side,  and  it  leaves  to  the  suc- 
cession of  time  to  carry  into  effect  successively  the 
parts  of  that  [work],  which  it  sees  as  one.  Thus 
the  individual  fulfillments  are  like  coverings,  which 
drawn  over  the  picture  and  transparent,  fall  off 
one  after  the  other,  until  the  substance,  which  lies 
in  the  nature  of  God  Himself,  the  Cabodh  [glory]  of 
Jehovah,  shall  arrive  at  its  perfect  manifestation. 
In  the  mean  time  it  finds  in  the  combined  view 
ground  enough  to  rejoice  on  \uber,  see  on  ver.  18 
—  C.  E.]  God,  for  the  certainty  of  salvation  is  the 
true  central  feature  of  the  picture.  God  is  neither 
In  the  storm,  and  tempest,  and  earthquake,  which 


go  before  Him,  neither  is  He  in  the  fiery  chariot! 
and  horsemen  ;  but  behind  all  these  in  the  still 
small  voice.  When  those  events  going  before  have 
purified  the  high  places,  God  sets  his  people  like- 
wise purified  upon  them.  Then  Mount  Zion  is 
higher  than  all  mountains  (Micah  v.). 

Ckusius:  The  things,  which  the  prophets  an- 
nounce, are  exhibited  (complexe)  in  a  comprehen- 
sive picture,  so  that  they  are  taken  into  tiie  eye 
all  at  once  in  their  whole  extent,  or  /card  rh  airo- 
Ti\e(Tfj.a,  i.  e.,  according  to  the  form,  which  tlip 
thing  will  have  at  the  time  of  its  full  accomplish- 
ment. 

ScHMiEDER  (on  ver.  13) :  The  picture  might 
be  still  more  comprehensive,  if,  iii  accordance  with 
Dan.  ii.  31  ft'.,  we  conceive  the  entire  succession  of 
hostile  empires  as  the  image  of  one  man  or  house, 
whose  colossal  size  falls  under  the  judgments  of 
God,  after  its  head  is  broken  off. 

Eeck  :  The  promise  enters  upon  a  new  active 
development,  when  corruption  of  morals  and  dis- 
tress reached  with  rapid  steps  their  culminating 
point  in  the  Pjxile.  As  on  the  one  side  the  char- 
acter of  guilt  and  penal  liability  impressed  itself 
always  more  generally  and  more  perceptibly  upon 
the  life,  soon  the  other  side,  particularly  among  the 
better  sort,  a  despair  of  the  means  of  delivery  ly- 
ing within  their  own  reach,  and  a  longing  for  rec- 
onciliation and  redemption,  directed  to  help  from 
another  source,  must  always  have  increased  the 
more,  but  without  being  able  to  find  thoroughly 
its  true  development  and  satisfaction  otherwise 
than  in  the  ground  of  Divine  grace.  For  from  it 
proceeds  the  consolation  of  deliverance  and  recon- 
ciliation, in  such  a  manner,  however,  that  the  fu- 
ture salvation  is  never  to  be  expected  in  a  human 
way,  but  only  from  the  Word  and  Arm  and  Spirit 
of  Jehovah. 

HOMILETICAL. 

The  consolation  of  prophecy  in  the  last  tribulations 
of  the  people  of  God. 

1 .  These  tribulations  must  and  will  come  (ver. 
2  a,  16,  17). 

2.  But  the  same  God,  who  decrees  them,  will 
also  turn  them  away  and  put  down  all  his  enemie.'' 
(Is.  liv.  10)  (ver.  2  b-15). 

3.  And  the  final  salvation  is  certain,  therefore 
the  Church  can  already,  in  the  midst  of  troubles, 
maintain  a  joyful  heart  (vers.  18,  19). 

Ver.  2.  It  is  enjoined  in  the  kingdom  of  God  to 
rejoice  with  trembling.  That  easy  indifference, 
which  relies  upon  the  forbearance  and  promises  of 
God,  without  considering,  with  profound  earnest- 
ness, his  powerful  wrath  and  the  severity  of  his 
judgments,  is  a  disposition  of  heart  not  well  pleas- 
ing to  Him.  Rather  from  the  knowledge  that  no 
one  can  stand  before  Him,  if  he  will  only  consider 
(ver.  6)  what  sin  and  wrong  are  done,  ought  the 
prayer  for  mercy  to  come  from  every  lip.  If  some 
are  saved,  yet  no  one  has  any  claim  to  it ;  for  it  is 
alone  his  work.  —  Ver.  3.  The  eye  of  the  prophet 
standing  upon  his  watch-tower  tixms  to  the  south. 
In  that  direction  lay  Bethlehem,  whence,  accord 
ing  to  Micah,  the  Messiah  was  to  come.  —  Vers. 
4,  5.  The  hand  of  God  is  also  in  that,  which  ap- 
pears to  us  the  most  hostile  and  the  least  consist- 
ent with  his  nature  full  of  life  and  light  If  men 
do  not  prepare  a  way  for  Him,  then  He  must  pre- 
pare it  for  Himself  —  Ver.  6.  The  judgment  pro- 
ceeds according  to  strict  justice,  not  in  precipitate,, 
but  in  holy,  rigorously  distributive  wrath  ;  with- 
out respect  of  persons,  but  with  strict  regard   U 


4U 


HABAKKUK. 


the  facts.  The  highest  things  in  the  world,  which 
appear  to  the  eye  of  man  altogether  unassailable 
and  indestrnctihle,  sink  liefore  the  glance  of  God's 
sye  into  dust  and  nothing.  The  Word  is  every- 
where God's  weapon  and  instrument.  By  the 
Word  of  his  mouth  all  things  were  created ;  be- 
fore the  Word  they  perish  ;  the  Word  is  a  ham- 
mer, which  breaks  the  rocks.  Wind  and  sea  are 
obedient  to  Him  ;  what  will  men  oppose  ?  They 
raise  tiieir  wenjions  (ver.  14)  in  order  to  destroy 
themselves  mutually  ;  they  do  not  hurt  Him.  If 
He  cuts  off  the  head  of  wickedness,  then  the  re- 
mainder of  it,  though  it  flow  like  a  sea,  will  not 
be  able  to  continue,  but  it  will  be  crushed.  —  Ver. 
10  f.  It  is  a  great  matter,  that  we  have  the  power 
to  be  tranquil  in  the  time  of  tribulation,  but  it  is 
not  easy  (Matt.  xx\'i.  37  ff.).  And  it  is  the  less 
easy  since  the  affliction  is  not  caused  merely  by 
the  wickedness  and  pi'ovocation  of  the  enemy,  but 
by  the  presence  of  God's  hand  besides  In  this 
lies  the  smarting  sting  of  the  chastisement.  —  Ver. 
18.  But  yet  this  sorrow  is  not  worthy  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  glory,  which  is  to  be  revealed  in 
us  1  If  we  are  of  good  cheer  when  cast  down, 
then  we  are  the  moi'e  certain  that  He  will  place  us 
upon  the  high  places.  It  is  this  alone  that  can 
banish  from  us  what  is  not  God's  power,  and  what 
is  unworthy  of  his  salvation ;  what  troubles  us. 
Hard  as  it  is  for  us  to  bring  ourselves  to  this,  we 
will  then  nevertheless  be  tranquil  and  free.  The 
lighter  the  burden  the  swifter  the  course  to  salva- 
tion (ii.  3). 

Luther  :  Ver.  2.  The  prophet  says :  History 
says  this  of  thee,  that  thou  art  such  a  wonderful 
God  as  to  afford  help  in  the  midst  of  trouble ; 
thou  castest  down  and  raisest  up ;  thou  destroyest 
when  thou  intendest  to  build,  and  killest  him  to 
whom  thou  givest  life  (1  Sam.  ii.  6  ff.) ;  thou  doest 
not  as  the  world  does,  which  at  the  very  begin- 
ning attempts  to  prevent  misfortune  and  continues 
involved  in  it,  but  thou  bringest  us  into  the  midst 
of  it,  and  drawest  us  out  again.  In  the.  midst  of 
the  years  means  just  at  the  right  time  :  He  knows 
well  how  to  find  the  means  to  render  help  neither 
too  soon,  nor  too  late.  For  in  case  He  brought 
help  too  soon  we  would  not  learn  to  despair  of 
ourselves  and  would  continue  presumptuous  ;  in 
case  He  brought  it  too  late,  we  would  not  learn  to 
believe.  To  revive  and  to  make  known  are  nearly 
the  same  thing,  only  that  to  revive  is  to  perform 
the  miracle  and  bring  relief;  but  to  make  known 
means  that  we  should  be  sensible  of  and  delight 
in  it.  He  who  desires  to  be  saved  must  learn  so 
to  know  God.  It  is  consolatory  to  believers,  but 
intolerable  to  the  ungodly.  —  Ver.  6.  At  the  Red 
Sea  He  stood  between  Israel  and  the  Egyptians, 
and  measured  off  the  land  so  that  the  Egyptians 
could  not  proceed  farther  than  He  had  allotted  to 
them.  —  Ver.  16.  A  joyful  heart  is  half  the  man, 
a  sorrowful  heart  makes  even  the  bones  weak.  — 
Ver.  19.  The  Lord  is  still  my  God.  Of  this  we  will 
be  so  glad,  that  we  will  run  and  spring  like  hinds, 
80  nimble  are  our  feet  to  become  ;  and  we  will  no 
longer  wade  and  creep  in  mire,  but  for  perfect  de- 
light we  will  soar  and  fly  in  the  high  places  and 
do  nothing  but  sing  joyfully  and  pursue  all  kinds 
of  delightful  employment.  This  is  to  take  place 
when  the  Babylonian  sceptre  is  cursed  and  de- 
Btroyed,  and  we  are  redeemed  and  the  kingdom 
oomes. 

Starke  :  Ver.  1.  Preachers  must  pray  eamest- 
•y  for  the  welfare  of  their  hearers  and  of  the  whole 
ihurch.  —  Ver.  2.  The  remembrance  of  God  is 
not  an  in.ictive,  but  an  active  and  busy  remem- 


brance, since  He  actually  increases  faith,  and  causes 
the  faithful  to  taste  his  sweetness,  presence,  and 
assistance.  Even  if  He  scourges  his  children.  He 
does  not  cease  to  be  their  father,  and  to  remembei 
his  mercy  (Lam.  iii.  33).  —  Ver.  3.  The  reason 
that  God  causes  the  great  deeds  which  He  ha? 
done  of  old  to  be  written  down,  is  that  such  deeds 
may  be  made  known  to  all  men  upon  earth,  and 
that  men  may  thence  learn  his  majesty  and  glory. 
—  Ver.  7.  We  should  ascribe  to  God  the  brave 
deeds  of  great  heroes,  by  which  they  have  assisted 
the  Church  of  the  Lord. — Ver.  9.  God  bends,  as 
it  were,  his  bow,  when  He  would  warn  impenitent 
people  of  coming  calamity.  —  Ver.  12.  When  God 
intends  to  execute  penal  judgments,  He  proceeds 
by  degrees.  —  Ver.  15.  The  ungodly  man  is  like 
a  tempest,  which  passes  by  and  vanishes  ;  but  the 
righteous  man  continues  forever.  —  Ver.  16.  The 
pious,  as  well  as  the  godless,  are  terrified  at  the 
divine  threatenings,  but  with  a  great  difference.  — 
Ver.  1 8.  In  tribulation  we  ought  not  to  look  only 
upon  the  blows  which  we  suffer,  but  also  upon 
the  gracious  deliverance  which  ensues.  —  Ver.  19. 
Servants  of  God  do  not  despise  music,  but  only 
give  directions  how  it  should  be  properly  used  in 
the  praise  of  God. 

Pfaff  :  Ver.  2.  Behold  how  merciful  and  kind 
God  is.  In  the  midst  of  tribulation  He  remembers 
mercy,  yes,  in  the  midst  of  tribulation  He  causes 
his  children  to  feel  the  strongest  consolations.  — 
Ver.  3.  How  great  is  the  majesty  of  our  God,  proof 
of  which  He  has  given  in  the  giving  of  his  law  and 
in  the  destruction  of  his  enemies.  —  Ver.  8  ff.  As 
God  formerly  led  his  Israel  gloriously  into  the  land 
of  Canaan  and  protected  them  against  his  enemies, 
so  will  He  also  gloriously  protect  the  spiritual  Israel 
of  the  New  Covenant  against  all  enemies. 

RiEGER :  Ver.  1.  So  can  contemplation  and 
prayer  even  at  this  day  alternate  in  the  treatment 
of  the  prophetic  Word.  —  Ver.  2.  The  prophet 
shows  in  the  very  beginning  what  was  in  the  bot- 
tom of  his  heart,  namely,  a  calm,  holy  fear  of  God 
occasioned  by  the  past,  and  a  good  confidence  ac- 
quired for  the  future.  God's  work  in  Christ  Jesus, 
and  the  making  of  it  known  to  the  whole  world, 
fell  in  the  middle  of  the  world's  age,  as  it  was  fit- 
ting for  the  light  of  the  world.  If  at  the  same  time 
confusion  may  seem  to  exist  on  the  earth,  and  judg- 
ments, of  whatever  kind  they  may  be,  may  press 
upon  a  people,  yet  on  account  of  this  grace,  which 
is  through  Christ  Jesus,  mercy  is  conspicuous  far 
above  judgment.  —  Ver.  3-15.  The  prophet  recalls 
in  his  memory  how  God  had  judged  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world,  and  how  all  former  proofs  in 
the  midst  of  Israel  give  a  ground  of  hope  and  con- 
fidence for  the  future  ;  because  all  the  works  and 
ways  of  God  in  their  great  diversity  have  neverthe 
less  a  coherent  relation,  and  always  meet  In  this, 
that  in  tribulation  God  yet  remembej-s  mercy,  and 
that  from  the  most  terrible  commotions  still  some- 
thing gracious  comes  forth.  —  Ver.  1 6  ff.  But  in- 
deed if  one  discovers  a  view  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
be  it  ever  so  beautiful,  behind  the  judgments,  yet 
it  fills  him  with  dread  that  room  is  to  be  made  for 
the  good  only  thus,  and  we  are  reminded  of  what 
will  still  thereby  be  stripped  from  us  and  ours. 
Nevertheless  the  mind  gains  relief:  leave  me  only, 
when  all  is  gone,  thyself,  and  Jesus  and  thy  Word , 
then  the  mind  remains  contented  and  humble,  ai.d 
one  is  preserved  from  all  vexation  at  the  ways  of 
God. 

ScHMiBDER  :  On  ver.  3  The  prophet  is  here  a 
poet,  who  soars  by  separate  images  easily  under 
stood  to  the  mental  vision  of  the  'nexpressible  ira' 


CHAPTER  m. 


41 


esty  of  the  holy  God  in  his  active  character  of  judge 
and  deliverer.  All  his  powerful  operations  in  na- 
ture, the  power  of  the  sun,  storm,  earthquake,  and 
flood,  all  the  recollections  of  former  divine  judg- 
ments, he  employs  as  insufficient  images  in  order 
to  indicate  how  everything  lofty  in  nature,  all  the 
power  of  the  nations,  must  vanish  before  the  power 
of  God.  The  impending  judgment  upon  the  em- 
pire of  the  Chaldaeans  and  the  deliverance  of  Israel 
from  Babylon  serve  him  only  as  a  suggestion,  in 
order  to  announce  in  the  midst  of  the  years  of  the 
world's  course  the  great  deeds  of  God,  which  lead 
in  the  very  last  time  to  the  full  revelation  of  God 
and  of  his  kingdom. 

Schliek:  Ver.  10  ff.  The  head  of  the  enemy 
was  broken.  Pharaoh  and  his  entire  host  were 
drowned  in  the  depths  of  the  sea.    So  will  it  be 


also  hereafter,  when  the  new  enemies  oppress  th» 
Lord's  people ;  their  head,  a  second  Pharaoh,  shall 
perish  with  all  his  people ;  as  certainly  as  the  hand 
of  the  Lord  then  smote  the  enemy  upon  the  head, 
so  certainly  will  it  happen  to  them  on  every  day  ol 
affliction. 

Tarnov:  ver.  16  ff.  The  pious  are  terrified  at 
God's  threatenings  ;  the  wicked,  on  the  contrary, 
despise  them  at  first  in  proud  t-ecurity  ;  but  after- 
ward, when  calamity  afflicts  them,  they  entirely 
lose  their  courage  and  perijsh. 

L.  Osiander:  Ver.  19.  When  we  are  assailed 
on  all  sides  we  find  a  lasting  and  firm  consolation 
within,  that  our  God,  the  God  of  our  salvation,  is 
our  Saviour  and  Redeemer.  For  after  recoacilia 
tion  and  forgiveness  of  sins,  what  harm  can  exter 
nal  attacks  do  to  us  f    Comp.  Is.  xxxiii  24. 


Date  Due 


